Slow To The Fire
by lovelyash02
Summary: Events take place after Sabrina finds evidence that Patrick is not the father of Britt's Will their relationship survive everything life throws at it?
1. Chapter 1

"Oh my god..." Sabrina said as she looked at the evidence in front of her.

"I'm so sorry Sabrina." Ellie said just above a whisper. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I never meant for this to go as far as it did. I know nothing I say will matter but I didn't have a choice…." Ellie continued her reasoning but Sabrina couldn't even hear her. It was all white noise at this point. Her disbelief and shock had rendered most of her senses useless.

"Please understand that if I had it all to do over again…"

"Stop!" Sabrina yelled interrupting Ellie mid apology. "I have to find Patrick. We'll deal with everything else later." Sabrina grabbed the paperwork and headed out the door of Maxie and Ellie's apartment. Thoughts racing, she fumbled around with her cell phone to try to call Patrick. She couldn't remember if he was already headed home from his emergency consult or still at the hospital. Realizing that her battery was dead, she decided to try her luck with the hospital. That way she would be able to verify Ellie's claim. Britt wasn't carrying Patrick's baby at all. She wasn't even carrying her own baby! In the parking garage of the hospital, Sabrina got out of her car so fast the keys were still in the ignition. While trying to get them out, she heard footsteps behind her. As she turned her head around and looked up, her heart stopped. She came face to face with a woman she had never seen before but who oddly looked very familiar. The woman had a gun in one hand…. and Emma in the other.

"Wha…. What's going on" Sabrina said with worry in her voice. "Emma, are you ok?"

"She's fine dear" the mystery woman said in a thick European accent before Emma could say a word. "Now… let's go." She demanded, raising the gun point blank at Sabrina's head.

Seeing the fear in Emma's eyes, Sabrina decided to comply. She calmly placed her belongings on the ground next to her car and raised her hands to show she wasn't going to put up a fight. They slowly walked to a parked van with the back door wide open.

"Get in!" the would be kidnapper demanded, nudging both Emma and Sabrina in with her one free hand. In the back of the van Sabrina scooped Emma in her arms like any mother would who was worried about her child

"Are you sure you're ok" Sabrina asked?

"Yes I'm ok. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, honey. How did you end up with this woman?"

"I was in the daycare at the hospital and she came in and told me she was taking me to see Daddy. She had on the same white coat that Daddy wears at work. I thought she was a doctor too. Are we in trouble?" Emma asked solemnly

Sabrina looked around the empty van. "I think so, sweetie. But don't worry. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, ok?" Emma, not sure if she believed her, smiled and wrapped her arms around her neck anyway.

After what seemed like an eternity, the van finally stopped. Emma, not quite asleep jumped as she heard the front door open and close. Sabrina clenched her so tightly in her arms she was scared she was going to hurt her. "It's ok sweetie. I've got you."

The back doors flew over and the mystery woman appeared once again brandishing the same weapon as before. "Out" was all she said. Sabrina tried to look around once out of the van to see if she could recognize her surroundings. All she could see where shadows of trees blowing in the darkness of the night sky.

Being escorted into an empty dark shack, Emma tried to hide behind Sabrina's legs. "I'm scared!" she cried.

"It's ok honey" Sabrina said stopping to pick her up in her arms.

Once inside, the woman with the gun stood at the door with a smirk on her face.

"Why are you doing this?" Sabrina pleaded.

"I'm only doing what any mother would do for her child." She said plainly as she turned to leave, closing the door behind her. The click of the lock sounded like thunder to Sabrina.

* * *

"FELIX! Have you seen Emma!" Patrick screamed damn near giving Felix a heart attack

"No. Why? What's going on?"

"She was downstairs in daycare and now she's gone. No one seems to know where she. I've been looking everywhere!" Patrick said clearly panicked.

"OK ok let's calm down. I adore the little scamp but she does tend to wonder off sometimes. Remember when she ran off to the Pier? She probably got bored and decided to come looking for you. I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Let's split up"

"No need for that" Epiphany said rushing up behind them. "One of my nurses said he saw Emma leaving with a woman with dark hair wearing a lab coat. They thought it was another doctor"

The pang of fear hit Patrick so hard he almost buckled over. "I… I don't understand. Was it Sabrina? Did she maybe pick her up and forget to call me?"

"No. My nurse said he had never seen the woman before. Older lady. Definitely not Nurse Santiago. I've already called the police. You may want to call Anna now, Drake Jr!"

"Yes. Do that Dr. Drake. I'll call Sabrina" Felix said while dialing Sabrina's number.

"Anna, its Patrick. I think Emma has been kidnapped. Get to the hospital as soon as possible." Patrick yelled into Anna's voicemail. "Sabrina?" he asked Felix.

"Voicemail too" Felix replied with a puzzled look on his face.

"What?" Patrick asked

"In all the time I've known that girl, she has never turned off her phone."

Patrick didn't even have time to respond before he saw Anna and Mac flying off the elevator. "Well that was fast. I just called you." Patrick said relived to see his once mother in law slash Police Commissioner.

"I was already on the way. I heard Epiphany's 911 call come over the scanner."

"Emma is missing, Anna. We have to find her." Patrick said with tears filling his eyes

"She's not the only one" Anna said matter of factly.

"What are you talking about" Patrick asked puzzled

"When we came in through the parking garage, we spotted a car with the door open, keys in the ignition and purse and cell phone on the ground. The ID inside was Sabrina's."

Patrick's heart sank to his feet.

"I had them run the plates and it's definitely her car. Keys, wallet, cell. All left at the scene. I'm having my guys run prints now and pull security footage. We are going to find them, Patrick" Anna said trying to be reassuring.

"I can't believe this" Felix said to no one in particular.

"Anna what the hell is going on?! Are you telling me someone kidnapped my daughter AND the woman I love? Why? Who would do something like that?" Patrick screamed. Before anyone could come up with an answer to his obviously rhetorical question, He spotted Britt coming off the elevator.

"What?" Britt asked confused as to why everyone was gawking at her.

"Listen to me very carefully, because I'm only going to ask this once. Where the hell are Sabrina and my daughter?" Patrick demanded.

"Patrick, I have no idea what you're talking about" Britt responded

"Sabrina and Emma are missing. The only person I know who hates them enough to do anything to them is you, Britt. Answer the damn question."

"Patrick, I'm here for my final check up. I'm due in a week. Or have you forgotten about our baby already?"

"About that…" Anna chimed in. "Patrick, you need to see something." Anna reached into her back pocket and pulled out what looked to be a sheet of paper in a clear plastic evidence bag.

"What's this?" Patrick asked taking the paper from Anna.

"It's proof. The baby Britt is carrying is not yours. We found in on the front seat of Sabrina's car. We don't have all the details but it looks like Sabrina learned the truth and was on her way to tell you when someone…. intervened."

"That's a lie!" Britt screamed realizing her plan was unraveling. "This is your baby, Patrick!"

As he read the lab report, all the color in his face washed away. Everything he thought was true was a lie. As upset as he was, the only thing he could muster to say was "Where are they?" Looking Britt dead in her soul less eyes. "I don't care about anything else, Britt. I already knew the type of person you were. I don't have time to do this with you right now. Just tell me where my family is, ok? It's over. This game you're playing. The lies. The deceit. It's all over. I just want my girls back. I love them more than my own life. If you ever cared for me, you'll tell me where they are…. please" Patrick pleaded with tears streaming down his face.

Seeing how much Patrick loved Sabrina finally brought a dose of reality to Britt. Everything she ever wanted Patrick to feel for her, he already felt for Sabrina. All her scheming didn't matter. Because no matter what Britt did to try and change Patrick's feeling for her, she realized that it was never going to change his feelings for Sabrina. She couldn't make him fall out of love with Sabrina any more than she could make him fall IN love with her. He was right. It was over.

"Fine." Britt said defeated. "I'll tell you."


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"I want Daddy" Emma cried

"So do I, sweetie. So do I." Sabrina said trying to calm the terrified little girl. Truth was Sabrina was terrified herself. She had no clue where they were or why, but she had a pretty good idea of who was responsible. The oddly familiar woman with the gun was Britt's mother. They looked so much alike that it was obvious. So many questions were running through Sabrina's head. But all of the whys would have to wait. Her first step was to find a way to get her and her little girl out of this desolate shack.

"Mija, listen to me. I need you to be a big girl for me right now, ok?" Sabrina said looking into the face of the little girl who had become her daughter in so many ways over the past year. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes" Emma replied

"Ok. I need to let you go for a minute. I need to find a way to get us out of here. I won't go far, I promise." Looking around the shack Sabrina realized how silly her last statement was. She couldn't go very far. The building they were in was roughly the size of and her and Felix's living room.

"Ok" Emma said loosening her grip around Sabrina's waste.

"Alright, Santiago. Think." She as she stood up to look around for something. Anything. A weapon. A tool. Hell, a hair pin would be great at this point. She picked up the oil lamp that was lighting the room to get a better view. It became obvious that the woman who put them there had thought of everything because the place was barren. Sabrina went over to the door and tried to force it open. Useless.

"Hey, look." Sabrina said to Emma as she noticed bottles of water on the floor in the corner. "Are you thirsty?"

Emma shook her head no. Sabrina kind of giggled as she remembered how little of a fan Emma was of water. She and Patrick had tried everything to get her to drink more of it. They even contemplated bribery the last time Emma refused.

"Ok. Later" Sabrina replied all the while thinking to herself that maybe this was a good thing. Surely if Britt and Mommy Dearest wanted her and Emma dead, they wouldn't leave bottles of water for them to keep from getting dehydrated. There may even be food in here somewhere, she thought. She began moving about the space looking for anything else she could find, but nothing stood out.

While pondering her next move, the sound of an engine starting pierced through the silence of the room so abruptly that it jolted Emma off the floor and she ran to Sabrina's arms. "What was that?" Emma screamed.

"I don't know honey. Stand right here by the door. I'll go look."

Sabrina followed the noise to the back of the room to what looked like a table with a filthy cloth over it. The closer she got, the louder the noise was. As she pulled back the sheet, her heart jumped into her throat. It was a generator.

"No…" she whispered to herself as she read the carbon monoxide warning label. "God, no."

"Sabrina, what is it?!" Emma asked

"Um... nothing, honey. Don't worry about it" she replied trying to swallow her fear as to not frighten Emma anymore than she already was. One thing was clear to Sabrina in that moment. She may have made a promise to Emma in the van that she wouldn't be able to keep.

* * *

The look on Patrick's face was one for the history books. He couldn't believe the story Britt was telling him. Stealing embryos. Faking Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Blackmailing Ellie into telling him the baby was his when it wasn't. His head was spinning. By the time Britt had gotten to the part about Maxie carrying her own child with Spinelli, Patrick was livid.

"Enough!" he screamed. "We'll get into the particulars another time, Britt. You still haven't told me where Sabrina and Emma are!"

Trying to make herself look as innocent as possible, Britt replied "I'm not really sure, Patrick. I swear. I told my mother about everything that was happening, or wasn't happening, between us and she flew off the handle. She said she couldn't understand why things were moving so slowly. I explained to her about Emma hating me and about you being with Sabrina. All she said was she would handle it. But she didn't tell me how." Britt lowered her head ashamed that she was involved in anything that would potentially bring harm to a child.

"You're wasting our time!" Anna snapped. "Give me your cell phone."

"Why?" Britt asked

"Trust me, you are in no position to ask question of me right now. Hand it over." Britt handed her the phone. "What's your mother's name" Anna asked scrolling through the call log.

"Lisa Obrecht" Britt responded.

Anna stopped dead in her tracks. "What did you just say?" She asked. Britt repeated herself and Anna became flushed. She knew that name. She knew that name well. She thought back to her and Robert's fateful trip to Switzerland the previous year on a wild goose chase to find their daughter. And unknowingly, Duke.

"Anna what's wrong?" Patrick asked breaking her out of her own thoughts.

"Nothing" she said blankly. "Just looking to trace the number. I'll be right back." She walked over to an awaiting officer to give him the name and number listed in the phone. There was no way she could explain to Patrick how she recognized that name right now. She had decided last year not to tell him about following up on Heather Webber's wild accusations about Robin being alive and coming up empty. She would deal with that later. Right now she had to focus on finding her granddaughter.

"Wow. I always knew you were a snake in the grass, but I never thought you would slither this deep into the dirt" Felix said to Britt, arms crossed. "I swear to you, if anything happens to my best friend and that precious little girl, there's going to be hell to pay."

Britt rolled her eyes, in no mood to come up with a retort to Felix's threat.

"Why?" Patrick's voice cracked "For what reason, Britt? Help me understand. You did ALL of this for what exactly?"

Britt's eyes filled with tears. Possibly the first human emotion anyone had seen from her in months. "I wanted you to love me." She whispered.

"And you honestly thought this would accomplish that? Everything that is done in the dark comes to light eventually, Britt. What was your plan for when I finally found out? To take away everything that I love? How would that make me love YOU?!" His voice rising with each word.

"I… I don't know, ok! This entire thing got so far out of my control that there was no way back for me."

Before Patrick could continue laying into Britt, Anna rushed over. "We got a hit." She said "Her phone is off right now, but about 30 minutes ago it hit on a cell tower 20 miles south of here. They're sending me the coordinates now. I will call you if the team finds anything."

"Damn that. I'm coming with you" Patrick exclaimed "And don't you dare try to stop me."

Anna sighed "I knew you were going to say that. Let's go. Officer Blakely, keep an eye on her for me. If she so much as flinches, put her in lock up." Britt shifted uneasily.

Let them be ok. Please god, let them be ok. Patrick thought to himself on the elevator. Realizing what he had to lose was too much for him to stand. Come hell or high water, he was going to bring his girls home that night. That was his solemn vow. Little did he know that he may already be too late.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

"Dammit!" Sabrina said in a panic. Loud enough for Emma to hear

"You said a bad word!" Emma exclaimed confused as to why Sabrina was suddenly so frantic.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll put a quarter in the swear jar when we get out of here." If we get out of here, Sabrina thought silently. She was looking everywhere on the generator in front of her for an off switch. A cord. Anything. But there was nothing. It must have been set up on a timer, she thought to herself. She was wrong. Britt and her mother had intended to kill them after all. That realization almost brought Sabrina to her knees. This is not how it's supposed to end. Not for her and definitely not for her little girl.

"Ok Emma" Sabrina said rushing back to the door where Emma was sitting. "You're still my big girl, right?"

"Yes" Emma replied.

"Ok. I need you to do me a favor" Sabrina reached for one of the bottles of water.

"I'm not thirsty." Emma said annoyed.

"I know I know. I don't need you to drink it. Hold on." Sabrina looked around the room again to find any kind of material that wasn't covered in soot and dust but didn't see anything. She looked down at the multicolored floor length maxi dress she was wearing and decided it would have to do. With her bare hands she began pulling at the bottom of her dress along the seam. Tearing it all the way up to her knees.

"What are you doing?!" Emma asked puzzled.

With a section the size of a hand towel ripped off, Sabrina took the bottle of water and drenched it in her hands. "Ok, Mija. This is what I need you to do for me. I need you to put this over your face. Make sure it covers your nose and mouth, ok? I need you to breathe through this. Can you do that for me?"

"But why?" Emma questioned.

"I know it sounds silly, but do you trust me?"

"Of course"

"Ok then. Put this over your face and breathe. Whatever you do, don't take it off. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Emma replied.

"Ok, stay here by the door as far away for that machine as possible. I'll be right back." Sabrina sprang to her feet again and felt the room spinning. She knew what she was inhaling. She knew it wouldn't be long before she succumbed to the odorless gas. She regained her bearings enough to begin canvassing the empty room again. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but there had to be something in there that she missed. She began praying to every God in heaven. Every angel up above. She began praying to her mother.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw specks of light coming from the opposite corner. It couldn't be. Could it? She stumbled over to inspect the mysterious light. There it was. She kneeled down to get a better view. Moonlight. She hadn't noticed this tiny window along the baseboard of the floor before because it was covered in black paint. Luckily it had just enough missed spots to let the light of the outside shine in.

"Bingo!" She exclaimed "Now how am I going to break it?" She looked back at Emma's beautiful face as she held the wet cloth over her nose and mouth. Such a good girl. So angelic. She was everything Sabrina could have wished for in a daughter. Smart, funny, loving. She was hers in every way that mattered. She would give her life for hers. And she was going to.

Sabrina ran over to the generator to grab the filthy cloth that lie on top and began to wrap it tightly around her foot and ankle.

"What are doing?" asked Emma

"Breathe through the cloth, Emma!" Sabrina snapped. The first time she had ever raised her voice to her. Back at the window, Sabrina felt all of her senses beginning to numb. She laid down in front of the window and starting kicking with all her might. The first contact her foot made with the window sent a shockwave of pain through the length of her leg. She tried to muffle her cries and kicked again. More pain. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, she heard Emma cough across the room. She wanted to run to her but she couldn't. She took a deep breath, held it and kicked again.

The noise of glass shattering was a welcomed sound. As was the breeze now coming in. Sabrina turned around and tried to clear as much glass away from the frame of the small window as she could. "Emma, come here quick" she said. Emma ran to Sabrina as she asked, still holding the cloth over her face. "Listen to me, I need you to crawl through there and run, ok?"

"Run where?" Emma questioned.

"Anywhere, sweetie. As far as you can. Look for light, ok? For a house or a car. Just run and find help. Ok? Can you do that?"

"But what about you?

"I'll be ok" Sabrina said looking down at the opening knowing she wouldn't be able to fit through it. Tears began streaming down her face "Listen to me ok. I know you're scared and confused. And I know I'm asking a lot of you and I'm sorry. But you are the bravest little girl I know. I know you can do this for me. Run as fast as you can, ok?"

"But I don't want to leave you." Emma began to cry. Somehow she knew what Sabrina was really asking her to do.

"Emma…" Sabrina started. Trying to fight off the cloudiness that was filling her head "You need…. You need to find your Daddy, ok? He needs you more than anything else in the world. If I could go with you, I would. So I need you to find him. Find him and tell him how much I love him. You and your Daddy…. You're not just in my heart, you are my heart. You're my whole entire heart. I love you both so so very much."Sabrina couldn't stop the tears from falling if she tried.

"To the stars and back?" Emma asked, reciting her and Sabrina's special saying.

"To the stars and back, Mija." Emma wrapped her arms around Sabrina's neck so tightly that she almost lost her balance. Sabrina placed a kiss on Emma's forehead, "Now go" she said as she helped Emma crawl through the broken window.

When Emma was finally out and running, Sabrina tried to inhale as much fresh air as she could. But it was too little too late. Her eyes were already heavy. Her body beyond weak. She leaned up against the wall to take pressure off her sore and possibly broken foot and looked up. She wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or if her life was flashing before her eyes. She saw her and Patrick's entire story playing like a movie on the ceiling tiles above. From the first time they crashed into each other to the first time he had ever pressed his lips against hers. She could almost feel the touch of his hand on the small of her back. She could almost smell the scent of his cologne on her clothes. She had never loved a man this deeply. He and Emma were her world. They were a family and everything Sabrina never knew she was ready for. She looked forward to game night every Friday. To kissing Emma's scrapes when fell off her bike. To singing her back to sleep after she had a nightmare. To waking up in Patrick's arms.

I was a lucky girl.

That was her last thought as the movie on the ceiling stopped playing and her world faded to black.


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4

"Do you see anything?" Mac yelled at Patrick 30 feet away.

"No" Patrick yelled back.

"EMMA…..! SABRINA…..!" Patrick, Mac and Anna were all calling out their names as loudly as they could. The only response they got was their own echoes. Patrick made his way through the thick brush flashlight in hand looking for anything he could find.

"Anna, are u sure this is the area?" He asked with frustration in his voice.

"I'm positive" Anna replied. "Maybe we should split up. We might cover more ground that way."

"Where the hell is the rescue team? Back up. Something?!" Patrick screamed

"We're in a neighboring town, Patrick. The PCPD doesn't have any jurisdiction out here. I radioed the chief in this town, but we have no solid proof Emma and Sabrina are even out here. The most they can do is send a deputy. They said even that could take an hour."

"Dammit, Anna. An hour?!" Patrick was losing all sense of thought and reasoning. He couldn't see anything past the fear in his mind. In his heart.

"Patrick, I know you're worried" Mac interjected "But we need to keep calm. We are going to find them. We just need to devise a plan. Maybe we should split…."

"SSHHHH!" Patrick interrupted. "Did you hear that?"

Mac and Anna looked at each other confused. "No" They both said in unison.

"Listen…" Patrick whispered. All three of them became mute. After what seemed like forever they finally heard it. The distant sound of a tiny voice screaming for help.

"EMMA!" Patrick screamed. Without hesitation they all started running in the direction they thought the sound was coming from. "EMMA, BABY WHERE ARE YOU?!" Patrick was running so fast that he dropped his flashlight. It didn't matter. Emma's voice was getting closer. He would find her in the dark if he had to.

"KEEP SCREAMING, BABY. LET DADDY KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!"

"Patrick over here! There's a path!" Anna yelled ahead. They all shifted direction to the dirt path on the other side of the waist high shrubs. The minute they hit the dirt, they saw the tiny shadow running straight towards them. Patrick's eyes became as big as saucers. He's little girl. He's Princess. He's everything.

Patrick lifted Emma in his arms with a force so strong, he was sure that he must have hurt her. "Are you ok?" He tried to ask through the knot in his throat.

"Yes, I'm ok" Emma replied, relived to be in her father's arms.

"Let me look at you." Patrick said setting her down and inspecting her from head to toe. Other than a few scratches on her arms, she seemed to be ok.

"We are so happy to see you," Anna said with tears of joy filling her eyes

"Very happy" Mac added.

"Emma… what is this?" Patrick asked grabbing the wet cloth from Emma's grip.

"Sabrina did it. She ripped her dress and poured the water over it. She told me to put it over my mouth and breathe but she didn't tell me why" Emma said. Patrick, Mac and Anna all locked eyes. All thinking the same thing. They knew exactly why someone would do that. To keep from inhaling smoke, or worse, gas.

"Emma, honey, where is Sabrina now?" Patrick pleaded with his little girl.

"She's back in that house" Emma said turning around to point in the same direction she had just run from. "She broke a window and told me to crawl out and run. I didn't want to leave her, Daddy. We have to help her" she cried.

"It's ok sweetie. I'll find her." He wrapped his arms around her once again. "But right now I need for you to go with Grandma Anna, ok?" Patrick redirected his attention to Anna before Emma could respond "Take her to GH as fast as you can. Have them run tests on her lungs."

Patrick didn't have to explain why. Anna already knew. She took Emma in her arms. "I'll send every unit I can reach." She exclaimed before turning around to run towards their cars that were parked half a mile down the road.

Without saying a word, Patrick and Mac began running in the opposite direction. "Sabrina?!" Patrick screamed when they finally reached the small wood shack. There was no response. Mac went around the side surveying the building.

"There's a broken window over here" He yelled back at Patrick. " But I can't see anything."

"Sabrina?!" Patrick yelled again. This time in full blown panic. He began beating on the door that was bolted shut. "Mac, help me! We have to break this door down."

Mac pulled Patrick about 5 feet away from the door, they locked eyes. "On three" Mac said.

In unison they counted. "One... Two…. Three!" On three they barged forward with all the strength they had in their bodies. They door flew open and damn near off the hinge. Patrick, rubbing his shoulder tried to make out the contents of the room. He saw nothing other than her. The woman he loved. Crumpled on the floor in the corner of the dimly lit structure. Motionless.

"NO!" Patrick screamed, running to her side. He fell to his knees and lifted her into his lap. "Sabrina? Baby, I'm here now. Talk to me. Please." He pleaded, brushing the hair away from her face. That beautiful face that he loved so much was pale. Barely recognizable. "Don't you dare do this to me!" He screamed, franticly searching for a pulse. He couldn't find one.

"Sabrina, please…." His tears streaming down like waterfalls. "Please don't leave me. I won't be able to survive this. Not again."

"Patrick…" Mac whispered. Patrick hadn't even noticed that Mac was standing over him. He reached down to Sabrina and Patrick pulled away.

"No! Don't touch her! She's ok. She going to be just fine" He said rocking back and forth.

"I just want to check for a pulse." Mac said quietly. He reached for Sabrina's wrist.

"Yeah, you're going to be ok. I know you are." Patrick was still rocking back and forth with Sabrina's lifeless body clenched to his chest "You're going to come back to me. We still have so much to do, you and I. You can't leave me now. You can't leave Emma. We need you. We love you. I love you. With every single fiber of my being, I love you. Mi corazón." He whispered in her hear. "See, I'm even learning Spanish for you. I know it's not very good. I'll get better, I promise. But I need you to teach me. I need you more than you know…"

"Patrick!" Mac yelled trying to break him out of his daze "I'm going to need you to snap the hell out of it ok? She has a pulse but it's very weak. We have to get the hell out of here. There's no telling home much carbon monoxide she's inhaled. Or even us, for that matter. Let's go!" Mac demanded pulling at Patrick's sleeve

Patrick climbed to his feet with Sabrina secured in his arms and ran outside.

"You stay here. I'll run ahead and bring the car down." Mac said, already in stride.

Patrick carried Sabrina about 20 yards away from the building and laid her flat on the ground. He was now alert enough to do what he was trained to do. Heal the sick. He searched for the pulse that Mac said he found. He was right. It was faint, but it was definitely there. He lowered his ear to her nose to see if she was breathing. He felt nothing. He tilted her head back, pinched her nose and placed his mouth over hers. Two long breaths. He watched her chest rise and fall. Rise and fall.

"Come on Sabrina. Breathe for me, sweetheart." Two more long breaths. Rise and fall. Rise and fall. Still nothing. Patrick didn't stop. He couldn't stop. If he had to breathe life into her, he would. He would do anything for her. He would BE anything for her. He would be her savior. Her knight. Her air. Two more long breaths. Rise and fall. Rise and fall.

Patrick saw the headlights coming his way but didn't stop his rhythm. He wasn't going to let her go without a fight. Not now. Not after everything they've been through to be together. Not now that their main obstacle was out of the way. Not after she had risked her life to save that of his little girl. Of their little girl. No. He refused. This woman was his future. His destiny. At the very moment Patrick heard the car door open, he felt Sabrina's breath on his face. He watched her chest rise and fall. Rise and fall.


	5. Chapter 5

CH 5

Patrick wasn't sure how long he had been asleep before Felix tapped him on his shoulder. He couldn't even believe he was able to fall asleep. Clearly the previous night's events had taken a physical and emotional toll on him. His eyes adjusted to the light as he looked up at Felix. And then back at Sabrina. Still unconscious in her hospital bed.

"How's our girl?" Felix asked walking to the other side of the bed.

"No change." He replied rubbing his eyes. Trying to rub away the flashes of memory of everything that had transpired the night before. He didn't know how to process any of it. How close he came to losing everything that mattered to him. He wanted it all to be a horrible nightmare. But it wasn't. Sabrina still hadn't opened her eyes.

"What about her scans? I thought they came back good" Felix questioned, breaking Patrick away from his nightmares.

"Yeah. I mean, her PET scan came back good. She has full brain function. She was even breathing on her own. She just inhaled so much carbon monoxide, Felix. We're keeping her on oxygen and checking her vitals every hour until she wakes up….. If she wakes up."

"Hey" Felix snapped. "She's going to wake up, Patrick. I know she is. She's gone through entirely too much to get the life she wanted just to leave it now. We have to keep faith."

"I know. I just…." Patrick's voice began to crack "I feel so helpless, ya know? I'm a doctor and I feel like there's nothing I can do to help her. And I hate it. All I want to do is trade places with her."

"Me too" Felix said quietly as he grabbed Sabrina's hand. She was more than just his best friend. She was more family to him than his own family had been in years. They had shared each other's inner most thoughts. Their hopes, dreams and secrets. She was the person he loved bickering with, gossiping with, crying with, laughing with. She had to wake up. "How's Emma?" He asked

"Physically, Emma is fine. Anna said they had her on oxygen for a little bit when they made it to the ER, but that was it. She only had trace amounts of carbon monoxide in her system. If Sabrina hadn't…" The tears started again as Patrick reflected on Sabrina's sacrifice for his daughter. "She saved her life, Felix. No questions asked. She fought like hell to save my little girl without any regard to herself."

"Yeah that sounds like our girl" Felix smiled

"Anna and Duke called last night. Emma couldn't sleep. They said she kept waking up screaming for Sabrina. Begging for them to save her. They told her Sabrina was in the hospital but I don't think they told her how serious it is. What am I going to do, Felix? What if…." Patrick's voice trailed off. "How am I going to tell her she's lost another mother?"

"You're not" Felix said walking around the bed and pulling Patrick into a hug. "We are not going to lose her. She's stubborn as hell and has way too much to live for. She's a fighter, Patrick. I think she proved that last night."

"Yeah" Patrick sighed, wiping away tears. "You're right."

"I know I am. Now you on the other hand, need to get it together. We can't have our girl waking up this scruffy, war torn face. Plus, you kind of smell like a Louisiana Bayou. No offense"

Patrick chuckled. "None taken." That was the first time he had smiled in over 24 hours.

"If you want to run down to the locker to shower and shave, I would be happy to keep post at her bedside." Felix offered.

Patrick looked back and Sabrina lovingly. "I don't want to leave her." He whispered "Plus Anna said they haven't found Britt's mother yet. Who's to say they won't try to finish the job?"

"Well I can assure you that The Britch is in no position to come after Sabrina right now" Felix said rolling his eyes.

"Why's that?" Patrick asked.

"Well while you were off on an adventure to find your family, Lulu and Dante stormed into the hospital last night to claim theirs. Oh it was epic, honey. I thought for sure Det. Falconeri was going to strangle Dr. Westbitch with his bare hands. But alas, he could not. Not with her being preggers with their kid and all. Yep. Things reached a fever pitch. The only reason I didn't leave to make popcorn was because I didn't want to miss anything."

"Wow. That bad, huh?"

"Chile, yes. They laid into her so hard, the girls water broke." Felix smirked as he hopped up on the windowsill to sit.

"Wait, what?" Patrick asked shocked.

"That's right. I think she's still in recovery. Bouncing baby boy Falconeri is in the nursery. I heard there's still some legal wrangling's and all that they have to deal with, but the Britch's goose is definitely cooked." Felix delighted in Britt's downfall.

"Wow" Patrick said quietly. The baby he thought was his for the last 7 months was here and yet gone at the same time. He was happy that Dante and Lulu finally got their child, but he couldn't help feeling like he had lost his. He never wanted to have to deal with Britt for the rest of his life. That was a fact. But somewhere along the way, he had gotten used to the idea of being a Dad again. And if he was to be honest with himself, he was even beginning to look forward to it. But now it was gone. He shook off the thoughts of regret and returned his attention to the present. "Well I'm glad everything worked out for Dante and Lulu. I know how much they wanted a baby. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Maxie's involvement in all of this."

"Speaking of…" Felix began "You're never going to believe this. But baby girl Spinelli was born last night too."

"You're kidding me." Patrick said already exhausted by the previous story.

"Yep. They're here now, as well."

"What do you mean, now?"

"Oh, Maxie didn't give birth at the hospital. I'm not sure where she gave birth, actually. I haven't been in the break room to get that tad bit of gossip yet. But trust me, I will."

"Man… " Patrick sighed "The things that go on in this city."

"Tell me about it. Now, about that shower and shave, Dr. Drake." Felix joked

Patrick smiled again. He realized why Sabrina loved Felix so much. And he was happy he was in her life. And in his. "Ok ok. If her eyes as much as flutter, you come find me ok?" Patrick said sternly.

"Yes sir. I promise. I'll watch her like a hawk"

Patrick went over to kiss Sabrina on the forehead. Before he could turn around to leave, there was a knock at the door. Anna opened the door slowly. "May I come in?" She asked.

"Of course" Patrick replied. "Is everything ok?"

"Please tell me your here to tell us you've found Britt's freak show of a mother?" Felix chimed in.

"Unfortunately, no we haven't. But we haven't stopped looking either. I have my men all over the hospital. With Britt having just given birth, we figured her mother may try to reach out to her here. Plus I wanted to make sure she didn't get anywhere near Sabrina again." Anna looked over Patrick's shoulder to Sabrina. "Still no change?"

"Not yet" Patrick replied. "But we have faith"

"That's right" Felix added.

"Listen, Patrick." Anna began "I know you think you're doing what's best by keeping all of this from Emma, but the not knowing is freaking her out even more than she already is. She begged me and Duke to bring her to the hospital so she could see her."

"She's here?" Patrick asked

"Yes. She's out in the hall way with Duke. If you want us to take her back to our suite, we will. But I think you need to talk to her first."

"No. You're right. The thing I love the most about Sabrina and Emma's relationship is that she treats her like a young lady. Not like a little kid. She knows what Emma can handle better than I do sometimes." Patrick looked back at Sabrina "You can bring her in."

"Ok. I'll be right back." Anna turned around to leave the room.

"You sure about this?" Felix asked.

"No" Patrick replied. "But if she won't wake up for me, I know she'll wake up for Emma."

"Daddy!" Emma squealed as she ran into the room and into her father's arms.

"Hey baby. How're you doing?" Patrick said lifting her up.

"I'm ok. Is Sabrina still sick?" She asked

"Yeah baby. She's still a little sick."

"Can you give her some medicine so she gets better?"

"We are giving her medicine. She's just hasn't woken up yet"

"Is she going to go to heaven like Mommy?"

Patrick looked at Anna with pain in his eyes. "I don't know, baby. I don't know" He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Do you want to talk to her?" Emma shook her head yes. Patrick carried Emma over to the edge of Sabrina's hospital bed and sat her down. At first Emma didn't know what to make of what was happening. To her it just looked like Sabrina was sleeping. She grabbed her hand.

"Sabrina. It's me, Emma." She said in her tiny voice. "You have to wake up now. Daddy is scared. He won't say it but I can tell." Patrick turned away to hide his tears. "You promised everything would be ok. You never break a promise." Emma went silent for about a minute as everyone else in the room fought back tears. Emma scooted up on the bed and kissed Sabrina on the cheek. "I love you." She whispered in her ear.

"Ok" Patrick said trying to swallow the despair in his voice. "I think we should let her rest now, baby." Before he could pick Emma up again she gasped. "Emma, what's wrong?" He asked

"She's holding my hand, daddy" She said excitedly.

Patrick looked down at Emma's hand in Sabrina's. Then back at her face. "Sabrina? Can you hear me? Open your eyes for me, baby. Please" he begged. After a few moments of no response, Patrick was starting to believe that maybe it was just in Emma's head. Or maybe Sabrina was having a spasm. She looked just as far away from him now as she did an hour ago. Just as silent. Just as still. He wanted nothing more than for it to be true. For her to come back to them so they could finally start their lives together. As a family. So much of their relationship had been focused on all the outside forces that were trying to tear them apart. They finally had a chance to happy without interference. He finally had a chance to show her how much he loved her. He was more in love with her than he had ever been able to express. The funny thing to him was that he wasn't even sure when that happened. He had fallen in love with her well before she was brave enough to tell him her feelings for him. Well before his _realization_ and long before the Nurses Ball. How is that possible? He thought to himself. How do you fall in love with a person while you're not even paying attention? While contemplating that answer, his love in question moaned. Did he imagine it? No. He did not. His friend. His love. His _corazón _had returned_. _His eyes met with hers.

"Hi." He whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

CH 6

"No… please!" Sabrina screamed, back in that place. Back in the dark confines of that wood shack. There was no light. No air. "Please help me!" she cried.

"Sabrina…."

The walls were closing in on her. Panic was setting into her bones. Her heart pounding out of her chest. She couldn't see anything. Not even her own hand in front of her face.

"Sabrina…."

She couldn't breathe. She gasped to no avail, her lungs on fire. "Let me out! I don't want to die!" She pleaded but there was no answer. No escape. "Please!"

"Sabrina!"

She felt hands on her shoulders trying to wake her up. She sprang upright from her bed and was met with Patrick's worried eyes. She struggled to catch her breath and gain her bearings. She searched around the room frantically to remember where she was.

"Hey… it's ok. I'm right here" Patrick said lovingly holding her face in his hands. "It was just a dream. You're safe now" He proclaimed, pulling her into his arms. "I've got you. And I promise I'll never let go."

Sabrina desperately wanted to believe him, but it felt so real.

"What the hell is going on in here, Drake Jr." Epiphany said as she entered the hospital room. "Her blood pressure is through the roof. Got alarms going off in the nurses' station and such. I thought I told you to keep her calm." Epiphany went over to the monitors to adjust the controls.

"Look at me" Patrick said attention still focused squarely on Sabrina. "I need you to calm down, ok? Can you take a few deep breaths for me?" Sabrina saw the concern in his eyes and did as he asked. After about a minute she felt her heart beginning to slow. Her panic subsiding. She was safe. She was with him.

"That's my girl" Patrick smiled

"Maybe I should give her something to help her sleep." Epiphany added.

"NO!" Sabrina almost scared herself with her response. "I mean… no. It's ok. I'm fine now."

Epiphany didn't believe her, but decided to leave well enough alone "Ok. I'll be keeping an eye on your vitals, Nurse Santiago" She said as she left the room.

"Are you sure you don't want something to help you sleep." Patrick asked as he helped her lie back down in the bed.

"I don't want to be drugged, Patrick." She responded. "And I don't want to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I…." She couldn't even finish her statement. She didn't want to. She didn't want to keep reliving it. She had spent the last 2 days in the hospital in and out of consciousness. Fighting imaginary demons in her sleep and sometimes even while she was awake. She tried her best to push the thoughts out of her head, but there they were. It was like every time she blinked, she could see that generator on the inside of her eyelids. Every time she took a breath it felt like she was fighting for ventilation. No. The last thing she needed was sleep.

Patrick stared at her. Knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I'm sorry." He whispered as he looked down at the floor.

"Sorry for what?" She asked.

"For everything. For not believing you about Britt and her lies. For not getting to you in time. For everything." He tried to wipe away his tears before they could fall.

"Listen to me" Sabrina said taking his hands into hers "None of this is your fault, ok? We were both lied to about the paternity of Britt's baby. And apparently the maternity as well. And there was no way either of us could have imagined that her and her mother would do anything so crazy. You saved my life, Patrick."

"I just wish it hadn't come to this. God, Sabrina…" Patrick stood up and began to pace the room "The thoughts that were going through my head. When I found you there… I couldn't see straight. It was like the earth had stopped spinning. I couldn't feel the ground under my feet. My heart… it was shattered into a million pieces. I thought…" He didn't finish. They both knew what he thought. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you."

Sabrina shifted uneasily in her bed "You mean knowing I was about to die?" She said barely above a whisper.

Patrick flinched. He didn't want to say it out loud. Saying it out loud would bring it back into reality. "Yeah" he responded.

Sabrina went quiet for a minute. Thinking back to the movie of their love story that was playing on the ceiling of what she was sure was going to be her final resting place. "It wasn't as bad as you might think" She said.

Patrick looked at her perplexed "How so?"

"Because you were with me" She smiled. "My biggest fear wasn't you finding me in that building. It was you finding Emma in there. I knew you wouldn't be able to survive that. Once I knew she was safe, Patrick…. I was ok. I was ok because I felt you with me. I saw you. I saw us. Does that sound crazy?"

"No" He shook his head "Not at all."

"I mean, facing your own death is a scary thing, don't get me wrong. But it was… peaceful almost. I closed my eyes and thought about every moment we had together. I heard every word you had ever said to me. I felt every kiss we ever shared. If I was going to die Patrick, I was alright with it knowing how lucky I was to have been with you for the time I had."

Patrick stood at the foot of Sabrina's bed paralyzed. "God, I love you." He said. He walked over and sat of the edge of the bed and took her hand into his. "Thank you for coming back to me."

Sabrina reached up and wiped away his tears "Always." She whispered pulling his face to hers. The feeling of his lips on hers was one she thought she would never feel again. She wanted it to last forever.

"Ok ok!" Felix exclaimed as he came into the room with his hand over his eyes. "Enough with all the PDA. We have to get you up out of this bed, Miss Thang. Have you forgotten your being discharged later today?"

"No I haven't forgotten" Sabrina replied happy to see her friend but annoyed at his timing.

"Good. We have to get you all packed. I have your room all decked out. Ya know, now that the Wicked Witch of the Westbourne is out on her ass. And her clothes on the curb, might I add. I still have to move the couch a little to make room for your wheelchair, but we'll do that later."

"Wait, wheelchair?" Sabrina asked confused.

"Hello! Your leg is in a cast. I can't have you hobbling around like some old granny. I'm getting you the finest wheels GH has to offer."

"Felix, slow down. First of all, it's an air cast. I can walk on it. And my foot isn't even broken. It's just a sprain. I only have to 'hobble around' as you put it for a couple weeks. I don't need a wheelchair."

Felix rolled his eyes, "Can you talk some sense into her Doc?" he asked Patrick.

Patrick laughed "Can you?"

"Touché ." He smirked. "Fine, no wheelchair. I just can't wait to get you home so I can keep my eyes on you."

"Actually" Patrick interrupted. "I know your really excited Felix, but I was actually hoping Sabrina would come home with me and Emma." He said looking at her with love in his eyes.

Sabrina and Felix had matching shock on their faces "Really?" She asked

"Yeah. I mean I know we haven't really talked about it before, but I have been thinking about it for while now. And Felix is right. You need to be watched so that you don't do too much too soon. And honestly, I don't want to let you out of my sight for a moment. You belong with me. And with Emma. I mean, if that's ok with you, Felix."

"What?! Oh please, take her!" He said excitedly.

"Felix!" Sabrina replied.

"What? Girl, you know I love you, but after everything I've done to put and keep you two together, I'm spent. She's all yours Dr. Dreamboat." He smiled. "I'll have her things packed at to your house by tomorrow. Now I have to get back to work before Epiphany sends in the hounds. I'll talk to you later?" He asked placing a kiss on Sabrina's head.

"Definitely. Love you" She replied.

"I know you do." He winked. "I love you more, hookah." He joked as he left the room.

"I didn't catch you off guard, did I?" Patrick asked still sitting at the edge of Sabrina's bed.

"No. Well, yeah kind of. Are you sure about this? Do you think Emma is ready for that?"

"Are you kidding me, it was practically her idea" He laughed. "She wants you with us. I want you with us. And not just until your 100% again, but forever."

Sabrina couldn't believe it. Every dream she ever had was coming true. This beautiful man wanted to share his home with her. His life. "I would love that" she said beaming from ear to ear. It was all she could do to keep from jumping out of her hospital bed and doing a cartwheel. As they celebrated with a kiss, she realized in that moment that all the obstacles in their path were gone. It was going to be just the 2 of them. Or the 3 of them, as it was. She was ready. She was ready to finally write the next chapter of their lives together. Most importantly, she was grateful that their story hadn't ended in that tiny barren shack. He was hers and she was his. That was the only medicine she needed.

When Patrick pulled away from her lips, Sabrina's face turned to stone as she caught sight of the entrance. The obstacle they had just ridden themselves of was in their orbit once again. Patrick turned around to find Britt Westbourne standing at the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

All Patrick saw was red as he sprung from Sabrinas bed and into Britt's face "What the hell are you doing here?" he barked with anger taking over his entire body.

Britt shocked by his hostile approach took a step back and looked at her feet "I… I just wanted..."

"You wanted what, Britt?" Patrick replied

"I wanted to see if Sabrina was alright."

Patrick looked back at Sabrina who was shifting nervously in her bed and gave her a reassuring look. One that said, _don't worry. I'll kill her before I let her hurt you again_. "As if you really care" he said attention back to Britt. "What are you even doing here?"

"I just had a baby, Patrick. I'm still recovering."

"And you can't do that from your own room, or better yet, a jail cell?" He shot back.

Britt sighed "I told you, I had no idea what lengths my mother was going to go to, Patrick"

"And if you had? Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have sat silently by as my family was taken away from me? And even if that's true, there are still a number of other things you should be in jail for. Starting with stealing another couple's child!" Patrick didn't care how loud he was. He had had it with all of Britt's lies and manipulations. On top of that, he hated himself for falling for it time and time again.

"I don't want to do this right now. I just want to talk to Sabrina for a minute." She said trying to walk past Patrick.

"Over my dead body." Patrick said blocking her path.

"Patrick…. It's ok" Sabrina said quietly

"No its not" He returned. "You just had a spike in your blood pressure. Plus there's nothing she can say to change her heinous actions."

"I'm fine, Patrick. I promise. Can you maybe go find Epiphany and see what's taking so long with my discharge?"

Patrick looked at Sabrina as if she had lost her mind. "If you're sure you want to listen to her, fine, but I'm not leaving you alone with her for a second." Patrick walked to the other side of Sabrina's bed and leaned against the windowsill arms crossed. His protective nature didn't escape Britt's attention as she walked closer to Sabrina's bed.

"That's close enough." Patrick snapped.

Britt stopped abruptly and looked down at Sabrina. It wasn't until she saw her in that bed hooked up to machines that she fully grasped what she had unwittingly set in motion. Sure, she didn't too much care for Sabrina, but she never wanted to see her dead. In her mind, she was a pawn in her mother's games just as they were. Her mother had put Britt in Patrick's sights without fully explaining why. Demanding her to make him fall in love with her. She could have questioned her mother's intentions but she knew better. Fear was instilled in their household before Britt could even formulate words.

"Listen" she began "I know there is nothing I can say to you right now that will make up for everything you've been through. But I really am sorry about all of it. Regardless of what you may think, had I known what my mother was going to do, I would have tried to stop her. I would never hurt Emma."

"Just me?" Sabrina glared at Britt with so much built up resentment, she was hoping Patrick was prepared to break up a fight.

"No. Not even you." She replied solemnly.

Sabrina looked at Patrick standing by ready to defend her at all costs and the tension in her bones faded. She didn't need to fight. She had already won."Is that all?" she asked Britt.

"Yeah. That's was it."

"Good, because I have a life to get to. A man who loves me and a daughter who we adore. While you… Well… I'm sure you have an 8 by 10 cell waiting for you somewhere. You can see yourself out."

Britt tried to swallow the shot of jealousy that rose in her throat as she turned around to leave the room. Before she was all the way out the door, Patrick came up behind her and grabbed her arm.

With empty eyes and in a tone low enough that Sabrina couldn't hear him, he warned "If you ever come near my daughter or Sabrina or _anyone_ that I love again, I promise, you will live to regret it."

Britt yanked her arm from Patrick's grasp and stormed out the room and down the hall to awaiting officers.

"Now" Patrick turned back to Sabrina with a smile. "Let's get you home."

* * *

"Patrick put me down!" Sabrina squealed as Patrick lifted her into his arms to carry her in the house. Their house. "This is silly, I can walk, ya know!" Truth was Sabrina didn't want him to ever let her go.

"I know I know. But you shouldn't have to." He smiled dimples and all. Patrick opened the door and carried Sabrina over the threshold as if they had just returned from the chapel. He walked her over to the couch and set her down gently before turning to close the front door.

"Where's Emma?" Sabrina asked excitedly. She missed her little girl. Seeing her face when she first woke up in the hospital was a feeling she'll never forget. Not just because she was happy that she was safe, but because she made Sabrina a better person. She made her a stronger person. There was nothing Sabrina wouldn't do for that little girl. They had endured something together that Emma didn't fully understand yet, but that would bond them for life. Emma gave Sabrina fight.

"She had a Brownie meeting" Patrick replied joining her on the couch. "Mac is going to pick her up and bring her home in a few hours. You're stuck with me until then."

Sabrina smiled "Sounds good to me." The way Patrick looked at her still sent chills down her spine. She felt herself feeling flushed when he gently took her chin into his hands and pulled her lips to his.

"What are you thinking?" He asked seductively.

Sabrina kind of giggled thinking about the last time he had asked her that. That last time was their first. The first time she had let her guard down and given her heart so openly to him. And her body. "I'm thinking how lucky I am." She said

"You? No, Miss Santiago, I am the lucky one. I never realized how lucky until these past couple of days." Sabrina still a little timid, a little reserved, looked away.

"Look at me" he said turning her face back to his "if I never do anything else right in my life, I will have loved you beyond reason. I need you to know that. To believe that. Do you?" He asked

Sabrina couldn't even formulate words. It was as if her entire body had shut down. Never in a million years did she think she would hear something like that from him. Yes, he had told her he loved her before, but this was different. The conviction in his voice, the passion in his eyes. This wasn't some high school, I love you/I love you too. No. He was IN love with her. She could feel it in the way he lightly brushed his finger across her bottom lip.

"Yes, I do" she replied with tears in her eyes. "I love you too, Patrick. So much. And from a place that I didn't even know was there until you awoke it in me. I promise I'm going to make you happy."

"You already do" He whispered pulling her into another kiss somehow even more passionate than the last. He was captivated by her scent, enamored by her taste. He yearned for her. He wanted nothing more than to get lost in her. Although he didn't want to, he pulled away. "Ok" he said regaining his senses "I shouldn't have done that because I'm not going to want to stop. And you are still recovering."

"Its fine" Sabrina said trying to pull his body on top of hers.

"I don't want to hurt you" He whispered

"Patrick…. You could never hurt me." She replied placing kisses all over his face. She needed this man more than she needed anything else in life. More than rest or healing. She needed him more than she needed air.

Patrick was fighting a losing battle. The way Sabrina lightly bit on his earlobe sent lightening through his entire body. He couldn't deny her even if he wanted to. He stood up from the couch and gently picked her back up into his arms. Careful not to hit her injured foot on the doorframe, he carried her through the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. He positioned her flat on the bed and began placing soft kisses along the length of her body. From the unsightly air cast on her foot all the way up to her temple. There wasn't an inch of her skin that he would miss that day. Or any day to come. The feeling she gave him was all consuming. He would spend the rest of his life loving this woman. Craving this woman. Pleasing her. He was sure to be gentle, but still made love to her like a man who hadn't felt the touch of a woman in years. He made love to her with a fervor that he hoped would wash away all doubts in her mind about how he felt, who he wanted and how deeply he was committed. There was no one else for Patrick. He knew that wholeheartedly. Sabrina was his north star.

They slipped into ecstasy and closed the door on the rest of the world. Unaware and unprepared for the shock that would soon befall them and shatter the new life they were just beginning to build.


	8. Chapter 8

CH 8

_Paging Nurse Santiago. Please return to the 10__th__ floor nurses station. _

_Nurse Santiago to the 10__th__ floor nurses station._

"Patrick…. " Sabrina giggled. "I have to get back to work." Sabrina was trying to push him off of her but not really putting much effort into it. Patrick had her pinned up on the counter of an empty exam room with his hands in places that made her spine shiver. It had been two months since her brush with death, and this was becoming the norm for them. Sneaking off in the middle of the day to steal kisses, late night/early morning love making sessions. They couldn't keep their hands off each other if they tried. And they never seemed to try very hard.

"Work can wait" Patrick whispered, feverishly attacking her neck with his mouth.

"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to answer to Epiphany"

Patrick stopped mid grope and gave her a stern look "Sweetheart, we ALL have to answer to Epiphany." Sabrina couldn't hold in her laugh.

"Ok. Good point but still…" Sabrina said pushing him away again "We have to stop."

"I disagree. And the Doctor outranks the Nurse." He joked returning his lips to her collarbone

"Oh is that right?"

"Mmhmm" he mumbled. Patrick was well aware of how inappropriate it was, but there was no blood flowing to his brain. He had no concept of decorum when he was in proximity of her. Little makeup, hair in a ponytail, in scrubs and she was still the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. He lifted her arm above her head and with his hand began tracing a path from her palm down to her rib cage. Sabrina arched her back when the coolness of his finger tips made their way back underneath her scrubs.

"Someone could walk in here" She said trying to stop him from pulling at the draw string of her pants

"That's the thrill of it" he said with an evil grin "Besides, I locked it." Patrick lifted her shirt over her head and threw it to the ground.

"You're going to get me in so much trouble." She moaned. Realizing there was no point in protesting, she returned the favor by removing Patrick's shirt as well. Before they could get fully out of their scrubs there was a knock at the door.

"You've got to be kidding me" Patrick said with frustration in his voice.

"Sabrina?" Felix whispered from outside the door "Girl, Epiphany is on the prowl. Pull em up!"

Sabrina and Patrick both began putting their clothes back on before unlocking the door and letting Felix in.

"See now" He said as he looked around the disheveled exam room "You two need an intervention."

Sabrina began to blush as she tried to straighten up. "Am I needed with a patient?" She asked Felix. "Was that why I was paged?"

"No. Piph said there was some guy at the nurses' station looking for you though. But I didn't see who. Ya know, having to run interference for you and the Doc's sexcapades and all" Felix loved making Sabrina uncomfortable

"It's not her fault" Patrick laughed. "I got… carried away."

"I'm so sure" Felix replied raising an eyebrow. "As soon as you two cool down, I would suggest getting back to work."

"Thanks Felix" Sabrina said as he left the room

"Some guy, huh?" Patrick asked wrapping his arms around Sabrina's waist "Should I be worried?"

"We'll never find out in here" She winked. Sabrina and Patrick left exam room and walked through halls hand in hand. As the turned the corner to return to the nurses' stations, Sabrina saw the back of the head of the man in question and slowed down. It couldn't be.

"Prima…" The mystery man said with a smile as he turned around to see her standing there.

"Oh my God!" Sabrina squealed as she ran into his arms. He lifted her up and spun her around in the air with joy. "What on earth are you doing here?! It's so good to see you!" She asked after he finally set her down.

"Me?" He replied. "What about you? You look incredible!" he exclaimed as he made her do a twirl to show off her new look.

"Well ya know. It was time for a change" she giggled.

"And a gorgeous change it is" He complimented

"Ahem" Patrick tried to interrupt without alluding to the jealousy that was beginning to form in his throat.

"Oh my, I'm sorry" Sabrina said "Juan, this is Dr Patrick Drake. Patrick, this is my cousin Juan Santiago"

Relived, Patrick reached out his hand "Oh. It's very nice to meet you, Juan"

"Likewise" Juan responded meeting Patrick's hand with his. "So" he said studying Patrick "This is THE Patrick Drake? Bree talks very highly of you."

"Bree?" Patrick asked.

Sabrina laughed "Juan is one of only a few people who have ever called me that."

"And always will." Juan winked. "So Dr Drake, I think this is the part where I tell you if your hurt my cousin, I'll kill you."

"Juan!" Sabrina snapped.

Patrick chuckled "It's ok. I would expect nothing less. I promise, her heart is safe with me."

"I'll hold you to that." Juan replied with a serious tone. One that Patrick took note of. Juan seemed to be very protective over Sabrina. She had told him they were close, but he wasn't aware they were life threatening close. Patrick couldn't help but wonder if Sabrina had filled him in on everything that went down with Britt.

"Anyway" Sabrina said trying to break the tension "You still haven't told me what brings you to Port Charles."

"I need a reason to visit my favorite little cousin?"

"Yeah. We just talked a few weeks ago. You didn't say anything about coming into town."

"Well after everything you've been through, I thought now would be a good time" again Juan looked squarely at Patrick. Yep, he was fully aware of everything Britt Westbourne.

"I'm fine now, Juan. You already knew that. Something else is going on here. I can tell." Sabrina said trying to redirect his attention. When she had told Juan about everything, he suggested kicking Patrick to the curb. He didn't like what he was hearing for a second and didn't think Patrick deserved Sabrina with the amount of drama that seemed to surround him. She was more than a cousin to him. She was the little sister he always wanted. He had helped raise her from the age of 7 and was closer with her than anyone else in their family. There was nothing remotely joking in what Juan had threatened Patrick with earlier.

Juan sighed "You know me too well, Prima. Yes, I wish I could say I was here for just a friendly visit. But there's more to it. We need to talk."

"What about?" Sabrina questioned

"Maybe we should speak in private." He said with eyes on Patrick

"Anything you have to tell me, Juan, you can say in front of Patrick. What's going on?"

Juan took her hand in his "Is there an empty room we can go to?"

"Juan, your scaring me. Just say it" She said pulling her hands away. Nothing about this felt right. Not his impromptu visit and definitely not that way he was attempting to treat her with kid gloves. Whatever was going on, he was making it worse with his somber demeanor. "Juan! Tell me" She demanded.

Juan looked at the floor for a moment and took a deep breath. He raised his eyes to meet Sabrina's again "Es su padre" He said.

In English or Spanish, those 3 little words made Sabrina's body go cold. She felt the floor beneath her feet fall away. Her muscles beginning to tense. Patrick didn't know much Spanish, but he knew what _padre_ meant. He placed his hand on Sabrina's shoulder thinking she was about to hear the worst.

"My father?" Sabrina said regaining her thoughts. "What about him? Is he dead?" she asked with what sounded like hope in her voice. Asking exactly what Patrick was thinking.

"No" Juan replied. "Unfortunately, no he's not."

Patrick was completely confused at this point. The only thing he knew about Sabrina's father was that he wasn't strong enough to take care of her when her mother died. She knew they weren't close after he sent her to live with relatives in Puerto Rico, but wishing him dead caught Patrick completely off guard.

"Prima, I really think we should go somewhere a little more private." Juan suggested looking around the busy nurses' station.

"Um yeah. Sure" She replied turning around to lead him into an unoccupied exam room. Patrick followed closely behind whether Juan liked it or not. Once alone in the room Sabrina retuned her attention to her cousin. "So, what has he done that would prompt you to fly here all the way from Puerto Rico out of the blue like this? Surely he hasn't been in contact with you…. Has he?"

"No not directly" Juan replied

"Dammit Juan. Stop talking in riddles. What is this about?" Sabrina felt frustration beginning to mix with her fear.

"I came to warn you." He sighed.

"Warn her about what?" Patrick interjected. Clearly this was a family issue and he probably should have stayed silent, but the insinuation that Sabrina was somehow in danger did not sit well with him at all.

"He knows where you are, Prima" Juan said attention solely on Sabrina. "I don't know how he found out, but he knows. He's on his way to Port Charles as we speak. If he's not here already, that is."

Sabrina felt like she had just had the wind knocked out of her. She had to hold on to the gurney in the room to keep herself upright. This was not happening. She had spent the last 20 years of her life trying the exercise the demon that was her father from her mind. Trying to block out the terrible memories of the past. Remembering how she wanted so desperately to have a loving father after her mother died only to be met with a cold shoulder. And even sometimes a cold fist. She could still smell the whiskey on his breath on the nights he would come home late from whatever watering hole he decided on at the time. That's if he would come home at all. She remained terrified of what was to come every time she heard his car door slam. She was that little girl again, paralyzed in her memories. In her nightmares. But this was no memory. This was no nightmare she could wake up from. This was real time. Her past demon had bullied its way into her present. As she stood there reliving a hell she never wanted to visit again, it was about to come knocking on her door. Daddy was home.


	9. Chapter 9

CH 9

"Are you ok?" Patrick asked bringing Sabrina out of her reflections. She heard what Juan said but was still processing everything.

"Yeah. I mean, no. I don't know." She replied flustered. "Juan where is all of this coming from? After 20 years, why now?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Like I said, I haven't spoken to him, but I heard through some family members that he's changed and wants to make amends. Or some load of bull. I've been trying to contact him for days to see what his real agenda is. No luck. So I had to try to head him off." Juan looked away from Sabrina and began to nervously shift from one leg to another as if he had to use the rest room.

Something about Juan's behavior set alarm bells off in Patrick's head. While he was clearly concerned about Sabrina, Patrick couldn't help but think there was more to story. He noticed how uneasy Juan was acting from the moment he shook his hand. At first he thought his apprehension was directed towards him and his involvement in a family matter, but that wasn't it. Juan had barely even acknowledged Patrick's presence since they had come into the empty exam room. Something was definitely off with him. But whatever it was, Sabrina didn't seem to notice.

"There's no way in hell I'm ever going to let him hurt you again, Prima. I promise." Juan vowed

Sabrina collapsed into her cousins arms. She believed him. Juan was the closest thing she had to a sibling. He would never lie to her. Or so she thought.

"So listen" Juan said pulling away from Sabrina's grip "I'll be here for as long as you need. I'm staying at the Metro Court. I have to go check in. Come by later tonight, ok? We'll get through this together."

"Ok. Thanks Juan." Sabrina replied.

Juan exchanged glances with Patrick before leaving the room. Sabrina turned her back to hide the tears that were starting to form. She knew the conversation that was going to have to take place between them. Sabrina hadn't been completely open with Patrick about her childhood. The moment really never presented itself until now. She couldn't run from it now no matter how badly she wanted to.

"I don't want to push you on this, Sabrina" Patrick began "But clearly there are something's I should know. That's if you want to share them. You told me your father couldn't function after your mother's death, but it sounds like it was a lot worse than that."

"You could say that." She said turning to face Patrick

Patrick seeing the pain in her face went to comfort her "Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"What was a going to tell you Patrick," she recoiled away from his arms and walked over to the window "That my father was an abusive drunk who barely wanted to have anything to do with me before or after my mother's death?"

The word abusive sent rage up Patrick's spine "Abusive? Sabrina…. did he hit you?"

Sabrina who was staring out the window lightly chuckled to herself "On the good days, he would hit me." She met her tear soaked eyes with Patrick's "On the bad days he would lock me in a room and pretend that I didn't exist."

Patrick stood silently not sure exactly what to say next. He wanted to run to her and love away all of her hurt. He wanted to ensure her that he too would never let her father hurt her again. He understood why she hadn't opened up about this until no but he wish she had. After everything they'd been through, he was convinced there was nothing they couldn't get through together.

"Wow, Sabrina… I'm sorry." He whispered

"No, I'm sorry. I haven't been completely truthful about everything. I just didn't want to relive any of it."

"It's ok" Patrick said joining Sabrina by the window "There's nothing you can't tell me. I mean, if you want to."

Sabrina took a deep breath before divulging the details of her upbringing. "Well…. Where do I start? He was never the paternal type to begin with, I suppose. I don't even recall him being around a lot. He was always away for work. At least that's how my mother explained it. And when he was around, he never seemed to be in the greatest of moods. I always thought it was because of me. Like I had somehow set him off just by… being. I don't know. I was really little. It could have all been in my head. But I don't ever remember being Daddy's girl, ya know? Seeing you with Emma… I can't think of a single instance of my childhood where we had anything even remotely similar to that." Her eyes drifted back out the window to the street below. She reflected on how she longed for what Emma had with Patrick. It was one of the things she loved the most about him. How he was able to show her what a fathers unconditional love truly was. It was as if she was living vicariously through Emma and didn't even realize it until that moment.

"The only thing I knew for sure was that he loved my mother." Sabrina smiled. "I remember sneaking downstairs late one night and sitting on the steps and watching them dance in the living room. There wasn't even any music playing. The way he looked at her. The way he held her. The way he brushed her hair behind her ear… and then how quickly his behavior changed when he caught me sitting there. It was like night and day."

"So he wasn't abusive with you mother?" Patrick asked

"No. Never. He adored her. They had gone through so much together even before I was born. She was diagnosed with cancer shorty after they were married. But they had gotten through it together. They had gone through hell and come out the other side stronger. She was in remission for years. During that time, they had me. My mom didn't think she would be able to bare children. She used to call me her miracle baby." Sabrina paused and looked at the floor "When I was 6, the cancer returned. She fought like hell for a little over a year, but…"

Patrick took her hand in his. Her pain was his pain. "So that's when he sent you to live with relatives?" He asked

"Not exactly" She sighed "After she died, my father…. He shut down emotionally. Even more so than before. He began drinking daily to numb his reality. He would sometimes leave me in the house by myself for days at a time. And on days he would come home, he would smack me around for no other reason than for reminding him of her, I guess. Child protective services were called after my teacher noticed the bruises. They removed me from his custody and sent me to Puerto Rico to live with her side of the family."

"My God, Sabrina." Patrick took her in his arms. He couldn't imagine what that was like for her. He wanted so badly to go back in time and protect her. "I never told you this, but my father turned to the bottle as well after my mother died. I know what it's like to watch someone lose themselves to grief."

"Another thing we share" Sabrina whispered.

"So you haven't seen him since?" Patrick asked wiping away the tears streaming down her cheek.

"No. He was barred from contacting me until I was an adult. By that time, I didn't want to have anything to do with him nor him with me. Plus my family didn't want him anywhere near me either. I have no idea what he could possibly want now." As soon as Sabrina finished that statement, her cell phone rang.

"Juan? What's wrong?" Sabrina asked on the first ring. Patrick noticed her face go flushed. "Ok…. I'll be right there."

"That didn't sound good." Patrick said concerned.

"It wasn't. My father is here. I have to head over to the Metro Court." She said beginning to leave the exam room.

"Wait" Patrick said gently grabbing her arm. "I'll go with you"

"You don't have to, Patrick. This is something I have to do alone."

"Sabrina..." Patrick took her face into his hands "I love you. You will never have to do anything alone as long as I have breath in my body."

She looked at this man who was willing to stand by her in her toughest moments and felt a little more at ease. There was nothing Sabrina couldn't face as long as he was by her side. She took his hand in hers and they headed towards the elevator. She felt prepared for whatever was to come as long as she held on to Patrick. And he was prepared to hold her up through anything just as she had done for him. The elevator doors closed taking them on a journey neither could have seen coming. One that would shake Sabrina's trust and would test Patrick's commitment. They proceeded to the Metro Court unaware that most of what Sabrina had just told him would soon be exposed as a lie.


	10. Chapter 10

CH 10

"You can still stop this. Before she gets here. You can turn around and leave and save her the grief." Juan said in an angry whisper low enough that the other patrons in the Metro Court restaurant couldn't hear.

"Like you give a damn about Sabrina's grief. You're into this up to your neck as well, Sobrino. You just don't want to have to answer for it. Well I do! I've felt guilty about this for over 20 years. This is what I need to do to resolve my own wrong doings. How you handle yours is your business." Sabrina's father replied matching Juan's angry whisper with one of his own.

"So you're going to dismantle her entire world just to make yourself feel better? Wow. Still the same selfish son of a bitch you've always been."

"I would watch your mouth if I were you. I'm the one who took her in when…" Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Sabrina stepping off the elevator and begin to slowly walk towards them by the bar.

"Mija…" He whispered. "Hi. Wow… I… I almost didn't recognize you."

"Why would you. You haven't seen me since I was 7." Sabrina replied with little emotion in her voice.

Her father looked down at the floor and replied "Well, you look beautiful."

"Why are you here?" She asked

"Well…" He began "I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked looking at Patrick confused.

"I'm Patrick. The extremely overprotective boyfriend." He said coldly

"Oh" He replied noting the disgust in Patrick's face "Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Pablo."

"Again" Sabrina said interrupting the introductions "Why are you here?"

"I was hoping we could talk." He replied

"Prima, there is nothing he can say to make up for anything. I think maybe we should just go." Juan interjected, again setting off alarms with Patrick. What the hell was this guy so afraid of?

"Juan, I know you're worried about me. But I'm fine. Talk" Sabrina said sternly to her father.

"Well first of all, I wanted to apologize to you for everything that I did. For the man that I turned into after Maria died. I know apologizing now probably doesn't mean anything to you…."

"Your right, it doesn't" Sabrina interrupted.

Pablo sighed and continued "I know I hurt you in the worst way, and I'm sorry. If I could go back and change it, I would. You deserved so much better than that. You deserved a father who would be able to love you through the hurt and pain of losing your mother. I am sorry I couldn't be that man."

Sabrina looked at him and didn't feel anything. Not understanding and definitely not sympathy. "It was more than that ya know? It wasn't just after Mama died. You were a horrible father for as long as I can remember. You were never there for me physically or emotionally. God, you treated me as if I was a burden on you somehow."

"Have you ever wondered why?" Pablo asked

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I've wondered. I just figured it was because you were a horrible individual." Pablo and Juan exchanged looks and Sabrina finally noticed how fidgety Juan was being. "Ok, what the hell is going on?" She asked.

Pablo took a deep breath "I was never a good father to you, Bree because I am not your father."

With those last 5 words, Sabrina felt the entire room stop. The chatter of the patrons went silent. The oxygen had been sucked out of the room and she was struggling to remain upright. "What did you just say?" she asked knowing full well she had heard him correctly.

Juan, realizing there was no going back retreated to a nearby bar stool and buried his head in his hands.

"It's a long story…" Pablo said

"I have time!" Sabrina yelled not caring who else could hear them "Tell me what the hell you're talking about. Are you telling me my mother cheated on you or something? Because that doesn't make any sense. She loved you." Patrick placed his hand on Sabrina's shoulder in support as her voice began to crack.

"And I loved her. Very much" Pablo replied not able to look Sabrina in the eyes.

"So you were able to forgive her but not love a child that wasn't yours?" She asked. As upset as she was, in the back of her mind, this was all starting to make sense. This would explain why he never so much as pulled her up on his lap when she was a child.

"Yes... I mean no. I… " Pablo was becoming flustered "Your mother didn't cheat on me, Bree."

"You've lost me. If she didn't cheat on you, how am I not your daughter?"

"Because you're adopted" Juan interjected from the bar. Neither Sabrina nor Patrick had even noticed Juan was working on his second Scotch. Trying to drown away the house of cards that were beginning to fall around him.

Sabrina looked at Juan as if he had grown horns on his head. Surely she had misheard him. This could not be happening. But it was. The look on Juan and Pablo's face told her everything she needed to know. Sabrina sighed "Start from the beginning" was all that she could manage to say.

Pablo joined Juan at the bar and sat in the stool next to him "You know how sick Maria was, Bree. That time she was in remission was a blessing. But before that… it was tough. Emotionally and physically. The doctors told her she couldn't have children of her own. That crushed her. Do you have any idea what it's like to want something so badly only to be told that's it's impossible? She became so depressed. So distant…" Pablo's voice trailed off thinking about all the nights he had found Maria crying in one of the spare bedrooms she wanted to turn into a nursery. "She went thru hell. But one day it all changed. You were brought to us and it changed everything. You changed her life."

"How" Sabrina said through tears "How did you find me?"

"We didn't. You were given to us by Maria's sister Lily."

Lily…? That name meant something to Sabrina. She looked at Juan who was avoiding eye contact with her. "Wait. Wasn't your mother's name Lily?" She asked. Juan took another sip of his scotch and simply nodded his head

"Yes" Pablo replied "His mother and your mother are one in the same"

Sabrina shook her head "No. That's impossible. Juan's mother died before I was even born."

"That's what we wanted you to believe. That's actually what Juan believed as well for awhile. Lily was born into… not the best circumstances. Her father was a very dangerous very powerful crime boss in Puerto Rico. Hernando was horrible person. She was estranged from him for awhile but sought out his help from time to time. That was her first mistake. He was a controlling SOB with a trigger temper. Maria was kept away from him by her mother the minute she realized she was pregnant. She and Lily never even knew of each other until they were adults."

"This doesn't make any sense to me." Sabrina said looking back and forth between Juan and Pablo. This did however make sense to Patrick. He couldn't place it yet, but something about the names in this story sounded awfully familiar.

"Lily ended up here in Port Charles at one point" Pablo continued "I don't know all the details of what happened in her time here. All I know is that she married a man her father ended up hating to the point that he tried to kill him. The next thing I know, she's on our doorstep with a baby in her arms begging Maria and I to take care of and protect. Juan is going to have to fill you in on the rest."

Juan looked up from his empty glass with tears in his eyes. "Sabrina… I don't know what to say to you right now."

"You've been lying to me my entire life Juan! Try telling me the truth now!" She demanded.

"My mother gave me up for adoption. I already told you that. I was adopted by the Santiago's as a baby. But she came looking for me one day. Her and…" Juan grew silent.

"I remember you telling me that, Juan, but I also remember you telling me she was killed"

"I thought she was. My grandfather wanted to desperately to get back at her husband for reasons that he didn't even have the facts to that he planted a bomb in his car. But it was my mother who was in the car when it went off. At least that's what I thought for a few months."

Patrick suddenly got very still. He knew this story. Robin had told him about something similar years ago. It couldn't be. Could it….?

"So she didn't die?" Sabrina asked

"No. One of my grandfather's men had practically helped raise Lily from birth. He had promised my grandmother to protect her at all cost. So when he found out what my grandfather was up to, he told her about it. My mother realized that she had not only a father who was dangerous but also a husband who was equal if not worse in his mob dealings. So they decided to stage the entire thing. She realized that she couldn't bring a child into that life. She had to get you as far away as possible. So they made it look as if she had died in that explosion. She fled back to Puerto Rico but realized she still wasn't safe. Neither was her baby. So she decided to give you to her sister. Hernando still had no clue about Maria. They only found out about each other through Maria's mother. After everything Maria had gone through with cancer, the last thing she wanted in her life was a volatile father. But she and Lily became very close over the years. She felt you would be safe with them." Juan gave Pablo a hateful look. "When she left you with them, she made them promise not to give you her last name. They couldn't risk anyone realizing who you were. Or who your father was. So they gave you the same last name as the family who raised me. The man who had helped our mother get away finally told me the truth after you were born. He didn't want me thinking my mother was dead but he also didn't want me to have anything to do with you in fear that someone would figure out. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't have a little sister out there and not have any contact with her. So we made up a story about you being my cousin."

"Oh my god…" Patrick whispered

Sabrina turned to see the look on Patrick's face "What? Do you know something about this?"

Patrick looked at Juan "Your mother was Lily Rivera?" He asked

"Yes." He replied curious as to how Patrick knew the name.

"Can someone please explain to ME what is going on?! If Lily Rivera is my mother, who the hell is my father?" As soon as Sabrina finished her question, she noticed Juan's face go pale. It was as if he had seen a ghost. Sabrina followed his stunned eyes to the ghost in an Armani suit who had just stepped off the elevator.

"Sonny" Juan whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

CH 11

Sonny walked hand in hand into the restaurant with Olivia for what he thought would be a peaceful and romantic date. The minute he saw a group of people staring at him from the bar, he quickly knew that it wouldn't be. Especially when he recognized one of them from his past.

"Hey, stay right here. I think I see someone I know. I'll be right back." Sonny said to Olivia as he pulled her chair out for her to sit.

"Ok, but hurry up. I'm starving." She replied.

"Juan? Juan Santiago, is that you?" He asked reaching the bar.

"Hey Sonny" Juan replied standing up to give his onetime step father a hug. "Long time"

"Yeah it has been. What brings you back to Port Charles?" Sonny asked. When Juan didn't immediately answer, Sonny noticed that everyone else in the group by the bar was looking at each other strangely. "Hello Patrick" He said redirecting his attention.

"Sonny" He replied

"Ok, I get the feeling I'm interrupting something that's none of my business. I should get back to my table. It was nice seeing you again, Juan" Sonny said turning to leave.

"Actually it is your business" Juan said stopping Sonny from leaving. "My mother is your business and so is your daughter."

Sonny slowly turned back around and looked at Juan perplexed "Your mother? Listen Juan, I know there was a lot of things that played into you mothers death, but I thought we talked about that decades ago."

"We did. I'm not here to talk about that or Hernando's involvement. I'm here to talk about your daughter."

"My daughter? Juan, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh my god…" Sabrina chimed in barely above a whisper "I think I need to sit down" Patrick grabbed a chair from an empty table for her to sit. He was surprised she was able to keep herself upright this long.

"Sonny, Sabrina is your daughter. Yours and Lily's" Juan stated plainly.

Sonny looked at Sabrina then looked back at Juan "Are you insane? That doesn't even make any sense. Lily is dead. And has been dead for a long time."

"Sonny… You may want to sit down for this as well" Juan said before rehashing the entirely unbelievable story that he had just finished telling Sabrina. He wasn't sure if Sonny believed him or not. And neither was Sonny. He sat there stone faced during the entire rewriting of his own history. A history that he had never been able to fully come to grips with. Seeing his pregnant wife die in such a horrible way. Yes, Sonny was in love with Brenda at the time, but when Lily told him she was pregnant, he had committed himself to her and their baby. Wanting so badly to be a better man for them just to have it all taken away in a fiery death.

"So…" Sonny said after Juan was finished "You're telling me that the entire thing was to keep my kid away from me?"

"Well it wouldn't be the first time" Patrick answered thinking to when Alexis had kept Kristina way from him as well.

Sonny ignored Patrick's unwarranted comments and remained focused on Juan "And you knew this the entire time? When you came to Port Charles to find me… to blame me for your mother being dead… you knew she wasn't?"

"I was an angry kid Sonny. I wanted to blame someone for everything she had been through. And after you took a trip to see my grandfather and made him put a bullet in his temple, you were the only person left that I could blame." He replied.

"Sonny, is everything ok?" Olivia said walking into the heated conversation.

Sonny didn't even acknowledge her presence. "How am I supposed to believe this story Juan? How? I saw it with my own two eyes! I saw her get in that car! I saw it go up in flames! I still sometimes have nightmares about it!" He screamed standing up from the dining chair.

"You saw what they wanted you to see Sonny! And from what I've heard, you relived it a few years ago with another one of you ill-fated brides. But you don't have to believe me. Look at her! Look at her and tell me she doesn't look exactly like my mother. Like your wife!" Juan shouted.

Sonny looked over to Sabrina who had tears rolling down her cheeks. He didn't know her very well. One of the only times he even remembered her was from the Nurses Ball earlier that year. He knew she was dating Patrick because he had seen them around town. He remembered being happy that Robin's family had found happiness again after her death. But he never saw anything else until that very moment. The way she was biting her lip nervously. Those big brown eyes. The shape of her face. How her hair was parted. It was like a younger version of Lily was sitting right in front of him. It was true. Sonny collapsed back into the chair he was just sitting in.

"If you still don't believe me, the two of you are more than welcome to take a DNA test" Juan said quietly.

"Yeah, we'll do that" Sonny sighed.

"The hell we will!" Sabrina shot up from her chair and damn near knocked it over. "This is ridiculous! None of this makes any sense, Juan. Why are you doing this to me?" She cried

"Bree, I never meant to hurt you. I swear. I honestly thought I was doing what was best for your safety. For you."

"What was best for me?! Do you have any idea what I went through? Do you have idea what this bastard put me through?" She said looking at Pablo who had remained silent since the moment Sonny came in the door. "All this time I wanted a father to love me and your telling me that you purposely kept him from me?! How could you?" Sabrina could barely talk through her tears.

"Prima…" Juan whispered

"Don't call me that! According to you, I'm not your cousin, remember? I'm your sister. I can't believe this." Patrick tried to comfort Sabrina as best he could. All while hiding his disgust with the situation. He knew it was a completely selfish thought, but he couldn't help feeling outraged that once again Sonny was going to be an important person in the life of the woman he loved. He was never thrilled with how close he and Robin were. But this was on another level. Sabrina and Sonny were blood. And Patrick knew all too well the kinds of things that could happen to the people cursed to have Corinthos blood in their veins.

"I can't deal with this right now. I have to get out of here" Sabrina said pulling away from Patrick's arms and running towards the elevator.

"Sabrina, wait for me" He screamed running behind her.

Sonny didn't bother stopping them. He felt like doing the same thing himself. When Sabrina and Patrick disappeared behind the elevator doors, it was like a light bulb had gone off in Sonny's head. He turned to face Juan again. "This story of yours, Juan, true or not true has one huge hole in it."

"What's that?" Juan replied.

"Well if Lily didn't die in that car bomb and she did give birth to my child and give her to her sister to raise…. the only question I have for you, Juan, is where the hell is she now?"

By the time Patrick and Sabrina had made it back to their house, her tears had stopped. She was in such a state of shock that she couldn't even form words in the car. She just sat there and stared at the pavement rushing by. "I'm going to call and check on Emma. Make sure her sleep over is going ok" Patrick said when they got into the house. Sabrina nodded as if she had heard him. She couldn't hear anything over Juan's voice in her head. Sonny Corinthos was her father. It was a hard thought to have in her head. How was she ever going to say it out loud?

"Emma's fine. Beth's mom said they're working on their second bowl of ice cream" Patrick chuckled.

"How did you know about Lily?" Sabrina asked abruptly.

Patrick looked down at his feet "Robin told me about her years ago. Robin was best friends with Brenda Barrett. Brenda and Sonny had a relationship that most people in this town are pretty well versed on. Robin said that for some reason though Sonny had married the daughter of a Puerto Rican mob boss named Lily Rivera. I asked her what happened to Lily and she told me she died in a car bomb. Everything else is a shock to me too."

Sabrina shook her head as if trying to shake out the reality of the day's events "He's… my father. I don't… I don't even know what that means, Patrick. Other than being affiliated with the Mob, I don't know anything else about him."

"There's not much good to know." Patrick said rolling his eyes

"Clearly you don't like him" Sabrina responded picking up on the distain in his voice.

"Let's just say we aren't close." Patrick couldn't help but notice that Sabrina was standing roughly in the same spot as Robin was when Sonny barged into their house and shot her. He wasn't there at the time, but Robin explained everything that happened and how he was aiming for Jax. To this day Patrick hated that Robin always defended Sonny. He knew he was going to have to have this discussion with Sabrina at some point but not that night. She had already been through too much. He didn't have it him to express how this news was affecting him. He didn't think it was his place. After all it was her world that had just been flipped upside down. He had little right to feel the way he did and zero right to share it with Sabrina. He despised Sonny and everything he stood for. He wouldn't want Sonny around his dog let alone his girlfriend. But Patrick kept that to himself.

"Listen" He said pulling Sabrina into his arms. "We're going to get through this like we have everything else. Together." He placed a kiss on the top of her head as he made a promise that he wasn't sure he would be able to keep.


	12. Chapter 12

CH 12

_99.99% accuracy. _

Sabrina kept reading the lab report as if it was going to somehow change itself. But it did not. There was no doubt that Sonny Corinthos was her father. She and Sonny had submitted to a DNA the day after the revelation at the Metro Court. A day after that, she was staring at the results trying to wish them away. Though she wasn't sure why exactly. Yes, she found it difficult to find anyone to say anything good about Sonny, but she couldn't judge him on that alone, could she? She couldn't just shut him out of her life before even knowing who he was. After all it wasn't his fault. He was lied to as well. Sabrina's anger wasn't at Sonny. It was at Juan. She could not wrap her mind around him betraying her in such a way. He had been trying to call her for the last 2 days but she didn't answer. She was hoping he and Pablo would be on a flight back to Puerto Rico by now. As Sabrina folded up the lab results and placed them back on the coffee table, the doorbell rang.

"Hi," Sonny said as Sabrina opened the door to find him on the other side.

"Mr. Corinthos?" She replied slightly taken aback.

Sonny smiled "You really don't have to call me Mr. Corinthos." Sabrina shyly looked away. Sonny realizing that she was thinking he wanted her to call him Dad quickly corrected himself "Sonny. I mean… you can call me Sonny."

Sabrina stood there awkwardly for a moment "How can I help you…. Sonny?"

"Well I was hoping we could talk"

"Um yeah .Sure. Come in" She said reluctantly.

Sonny walked into the living room and immediately noticed the folded up lab report on the coffee table. "Is Patrick here?" He asked back turned away from Sabrina.

"No, he's in surgery. And Emma is at school."

Sonny turned to face his daughter "Good. I don't think he would take too kindly to me being in his house."

"Yeah. He told me the two of you aren't friendly but I felt like there was more to that."

"Smart girl" Sonny smirked "Don't worry about that. Patrick and I have had years of problems that have never gotten resolved. Now we'll be forced to do so."

Sabrina looked at Sonny curiously but didn't push him on it. He clearly wasn't there to talk about Patrick. "So… you said you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Can we…?" He asked motioning to the couch. Sabrina nodded and sat down next him. Sonny started to say something but stopped before he could get the words out. Sabrina looked so much like Lily. Sonny saw some of himself in her as well but she was all Lily. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Everything that he had practiced to say to her on the car ride over was gone. His eyes began to fill with tears. "I'm sorry. I just…" Sonny tried to look away "You just look so much like her."

Sabrina who just 10 minutes earlier was contemplating not having anything to do with him now wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and tell him she loved him. But she didn't She couldn't. She didn't even know this man "It's ok" was all she said.

"I know this is all still very raw for you…"

"And for you" Sabrina interrupted

"Well… this isn't exactly the first time for me" he said making light of finding out Dante was his son so late in life. "I just wanted you to know that no matter what you may have heard about me, no one will ever tell you that I don't love my kids. I don't expect us to become close over night, but if you're willing to allow me a place in your life, it would be a blessing for me."

Sabrina went silent for a moment as she looked at this man she barely knew who had more love in his eyes for her than the father she knew ever did. "I um… I would like that" She smiled.

Sonny smiled "Good. There was something else I needed to tell you by the way. About your mother. You tore out of the Metro Court so fast the other night I don't think you realized that Juan failed to mention Lily's whereabouts today."

"Oh my god. You're right. I didn't even think about that. Did he tell you after I left?"

"Eh... not really. According to Juan, he hasn't seen or heard from her since. He doesn't know if she's alive or dead."

"Did you believe him?" Sabrina questioned

"Yeah I did. He's seemingly run out of reasons to keep lying."

"Wait! The guy he said helped her fake her death. Wouldn't he know where she was?" Sabrina said remembering Juan's story.

"That was my thought too. But Juan said he died 10 years ago."

Sabrina had no clue why she suddenly felt so distraught. Like she had just lost something that she never had in the first place. But she did. She couldn't hide her disappointment or the tears that were in her eyes.

Sonny placed his hand on hers "Hey, if she's out there somewhere, I will find her. I promise."

Sabrina fell into Sonny's arms. It took them both by surprise but it felt right. The second Sabrina rested her head on Sonny's chest she knew that a relationship with him was exactly what she wanted. There would be no more second guessing and no more listening to the towns' gossip about the kind of man he was or the business he was in. She didn't care. All her life she had longed for a father and here he was. She wasn't going to give that up for anyone or anything.

Sabrina and Sonny's first father daughter moment came to an abrupt end when she heard the front door open. "Patrick…" She said pulling away from Sonny and wiping tears from her face. "Your home early."

"Yeah…" he replied cautiously. "Surgery wrapped up earlier than we planned. So what's going on here?" the tension between him and Sonny was evident.

"I was just leaving" Sonny said standing up from the couch. "Sabrina, I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Thanks Sonny" Sabrina smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Patrick" Sonny said as he walked towards the door.

"Sonny" He returned as he closed the door behind him.

Sabrina noticed the annoyance in Patrick's face and tried to change the subject "So, your patient is going to be ok?"

"Why was he here?" Patrick replied coldly.

"Patrick, he's my father. I…."

"He's been your father all of five damn minutes Sabrina."

"Patrick…"

"I don't want him in my house!" Patrick yelled

Sabrina stepped back. Patrick had never yelled at her in this manner before. She was shocked and to be honest angry herself "Ok… I think I'm going to go" She said reaching for her purse.

"Wait…" Patrick said grabbing her arm as she reached for the door to leave. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I just… I'm sorry, ok? Please don't leave."

"Patrick what is going on? You don't like the man, that's obvious. But there is more to this. Tell me." Sabrina pleaded walking back over to the couch.

Patrick sighed as he took a seat next to her "Your right. You have a right to know everything" He said as he began telling her stories of his and Sonny's brief yet always strained encounters. He told her everything relating to Robin's constant blind loyalty to Sonny and how he has always resented it. He realized that Sonny and Robin shared something special as it related to Stone Cates, but he admitted that he never understood why she always gave Sonny the benefit of the doubt. He told her about the shooting in the very living room they were sitting in. He told her about how Sonny attacked his brother Matt when he thought he had botched a surgery Kristina had a few years ago. He even admitted to Sabrina that there was a time that he liked Sonny. How he tried to see Sonny through Robin's eyes as a misunderstood guy victim of his own circumstance. But how that all changed after Sonny placed some blame on Patrick for knowing that Dante was his son for close to a year and not telling him. He told her everything. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

When he was finished Sabrina stood up from the couch and walked over to the patio doors and looked outside. After what seemed like forever to Patrick, Sabrina finally turned to face him. "Thank you for sharing all of that with me, Patrick. It gives me a better understanding of your feelings. But I need to ask you if you can understand mine."

"What do you mean?" He asked

"He's my dad, Patrick. And I may not know what that means right now, but I want to." Sabrina tried to wipe away the tears before they could fall "I want to know what that could mean for me. I've decided that I want him in my life Patrick. I need you to tell me if you will be able to accept him as well. Can you?"

Patrick stood up and looked around the room for a moment to gather his thoughts before he could answer. The question Sabrina had just asked him was one that he had been asking himself for the past two days. One that he still didn't know the answer to. He honestly wasn't sure if he and Sonny were beyond some form of repair even if just for Sabrina's sake. When his eyes finally met hers, his thoughts flashed back to finding her unconscious and alone. He thought back to sitting by her bedside begging her to wake up. All the things she was willing to do for him, how could he not afford her this one request? "For you, I would do anything" He said softly.

Sabrina smiled and rushed into his arms. "I love you"

"I love you too." Patrick held her tightly in his arms in an effort to mask the reluctance in his eyes. Patrick meant what he said, he would do anything to see her happy. Even if it meant trusting Sonny not to hurt Sabrina in the same way he always seemed to hurt his other kids. Indirectly yet tragically. No matter how badly he wanted to shield her, Patrick would have to let Sabrina find out firsthand what it was like to be a Corinthos.


	13. Chapter 13

CH 13

"Emma! Hurry up little Miss. We don't want to be late." Sabrina called down the hall to the flower girl to be.

"Wow" Patrick said walking out of the bathroom into their bedroom. "You look stunning"

"Why thank you, Dr Drake." She smiled as she did a twirl to show off her floor length sky blue gown. "And you look dashing as well." She complimented while adjusting his tie.

"Your hair is… different." He said noticing the new big curls.

"You don't like it?" Sabrina pouted.

"Oh honey… Just the opposite. I love it. It's very…"

"Latin!" She interrupted.

"Si!" Patrick smirked.

"Oh gosh. We have got to work on your Spanish, Mi Amor. What's taking Emma so long?" she asked going to the armoire to pick out the perfect earrings.

"If I was a betting man, I would say she lost her shoes again" Patrick laughed.

"Let me go help her. The last thing we need is to be late for Mac and Felicia's wedding after being the reason they postponed it in the first place."

"Sabrina," Patrick said grabbing her by the waist before she could leave the room "That wasn't your fault. You know that. No one could have predicted what Britt and her crazy mother would put you through. Nor that it would be the day before their wedding."

"I know I know. I just still feel guilty about it. That reminds me, has Anna tracked down Dr Obrecht yet?" she asked with worry in her voice. 3 month after she tried to kill Sabrina and Emma, they still hadn't heard any updates on her whereabouts.

"Not to my knowledge. But I'll be sure to check in with her at the wedding."

"Good. Because as sweet as it is to have you watching me like a hawk, it's becoming a bit much." Sabrina joked

"Oh is that right? Well personally I don't see the problem" He replied placing a kiss along her neck

"Well between you and Sonny, I'm starting to feel like I'm under a microscope" She laughed.

Patrick brought his face up to meet hers "Sonny? You told him about that night?"

"No, I didn't have to. He already knew about it with all the news coverage. It's just that at the time he wasn't aware that I was… well, you know." Sabrina said cautiously.

It had been a little over a month since they found out Sonny was her father but Sabrina knew not to bring it up if she didn't have to. Patrick was staying true to his word and attempting to be civil with him, but she could tell that it was almost painful for him to do so. Sabrina on the other hand was starting to get used it. Sonny was acting like… well, a father to her. Calling her just to say Hi. Stopping by the nurses' station to take her to lunch. She had even gone over to his house, which by the way was a good 3 times to size of the house she shared with Patrick, for dinner with the rest of the Corinthos brood. It was amazing. She had gone from being an only child to having 5 siblings in the blink of an eye. She still wasn't on speaking terms with Juan and Kristina was away at college, but she enjoyed getting to know Dante, Michael and Morgan. And they were a lot more welcoming than she thought they would be. Especially Dante. The two of them had a private conversation about what it was like to find out their father wasn't the guy he dreamed of as a kid. And how their relationship was still a work in progress. Dante knew exactly how Sabrina was feeling about the situation. The moral tug of war it was putting on her conscience. He knew it all too well and made sure that Sabrina knew she wasn't alone. In just a few short weeks, Dante had become Sabrina's closest family member and confidant.

"I'm readyyyyy!" Emma exclaimed as she entered the room.

Sabrina looked down at Emma with her hair in curls, wearing the prettiest little pink flower girl dress she'd ever seen… and mismatched shoes. "Oh dear" She laughed. "Come on, Mija. Let's go find the right shoes."

* * *

Everything about Mac and Felicia's ceremony was magical. From the flower arrangements to the music. Emma was so worried about being a good flower girl that when she ran out of pedals half way down the aisle, she turned around to pick some up and continued on. The entire church started to laugh. Sabrina sat with Sonny and Olivia as Patrick was standing up as Mac's best man. And looking unbelievably dapper while doing so. Sabrina couldn't help but to let her mind wander to the possibility of him standing at that alter with her one day.

Later at the reception Patrick finally made his way over to Sabrina who looked to be in deep conversation with Sonny.

"Hey" he interrupted placing a kiss on Sabrina's cheek. "Sorry I've been running around this whole time. You ok?"

"Oh it's ok. You're being a good best man. I'm fine." She smiled

"Sonny, surprised to see you here. I can't imagine that Mac invited you." Patrick said causing Sabrina to shift uneasily.

Sonny grinned "Well, he didn't per se. Felicia invited Olivia. I'm her plus one."

"Oh. How convenient. " He replied staring daggers at Sonny.

"Anna!" Sabrina said noticing she was walking by. Happy to break the tension. "Um.. where's Emma?"

"She and Felicia are changing into different dresses. Everything alright over here?" She asked looking back and forth between Patrick and Sonny.

"Yeah everything is fine." Patrick said redirecting his attention. "By the way, I wanted to talk to about the Dr. Obrecht investigation. Has there been any progress?"

"I would actually like to know the answer to that myself." Sonny added.

"All we know for sure is that she was able to get out of the country. I still have my contacts at the WSB looking for her. Trust me, after what she did to Sabrina and my granddaughter, I will not rest until she is captured." Anna vowed.

"Well I want you to know that I have my own connections looking for her as well." Sonny said sternly.

Anna looked at Sonny with concern on her face "And if your 'connections' find her before we do?"

Sonny shrugged "Then it is what it is."

"No one asked you for your help, Sonny" Patrick said annoyed by his suggestion of vigilante justice.

"You didn't have to ask me for my help, Patrick. She's my kid. No one hurts my kids!" Sonny replied angrily.

"Only you can do that, right?" Patrick matched Sonny's angry tone with one of his own.

"You know what Patrick…" Sonny began

"Enough!" Sabrina shouted. "This is not the time or the place for you two to face off in a chest beating competition. Let it go. Please."

Patrick and Sonny exchanged looks of surrender. "Your right. I apologize" Patrick sighed.

"Me too" Sonny added "But I meant what I said earlier, Sabrina. I would feel a little more at ease if you would let me just put someone on you until this is all settled."

Patrick looked at Sonny puzzled "Put someone on her? What does that mean?"

"Sonny wants to give me a bodyguard or something. I told him it wasn't necessary." Sabrina answered.

"It's not Milo is it?" Patrick asked remembering how close he came to losing Sabrina to Milo earlier that year.

"No. Milo doesn't work for me anymore. I actually had someone else in mind…"

"Patrick!" Mac called out rushing up behind his best man. "We have a problem. The wedding singer got laryngitis. Can you believe that? Just our luck, I tell ya."

"Man that's too bad" Patrick replied.

"You're telling me. Now we have to scramble to find a CD with our wedding song it. No telling how long that's going to take."

"You might not have to do that" Patrick said looking at Sabrina

"What….? Oh… no. Don't even think about it Patrick Drake. There's no way." Sabrina said reading his mind.

"Oh come on Sabrina. We all remember what an amazing voice you have. You brought the house down at the Nurses Ball. Please…. For me?" Patrick begged flashing those dimples she never could say no to.

Sabrina sighed "I really hate it when you do that."

"This is wonderful" Mac said excitedly "Come with me. I'll get you all set up with the song."

"Can I leave you two alone for a moment, or should I call back up?" Anna asked Patrick and Sonny as Sabrina and Mac hurried away.

"We're fine" Sonny smiled. Patrick nodded in agreement before Anna walked away.

After a few moments of nervous energy between them Sabrina finally took the stage. "To the Bride and Groom. May the love you share on this day, touch many for years to come." Sabrina began to sing a soulful rendition of Not Too Much to Ask by Mary Chapin Carpenter. A song that had been special to Mac and Felicia for years. They danced as if there was no one else in the room. Patrick, however, was focused on Sabrina. So beautiful. So talented. He loved her more and more each day.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Sonny said breaking Patrick out of his trance.

"Very." Patrick couldn't disagree with him on that

"I know you may hate me, but I need you to know that in the short time that I've known Sabrina, I've come to care a lot about her. Her and her happiness are important to me."

"To me as well."

"You sure about that?" Sonny questioned.

Patrick finally turned to look at Sonny "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying Patrick. I want to make sure you're the right man for my daughter."

"Save me the protective father routine, Sonny. You may share the same DNA and you may be trying to force your way into her life, but I know her better than you do. And not that I owe you anything, but I love Sabrina. Very much." Patrick pleaded his case and turned back to Sabrina and smiled when she made eye contact with him in the middle of her song.

"Yeah" Sonny nodded "I can see that. I'm just not sure you love her enough."

Patrick had to take a breath to prevent himself from causing a scene. Sonny was clearly trying to get under his skin. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't? Don't forget that I was present during the great love story of Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio." Sonny replied before taking a sip of his champagne.

Sonny mentioning Robin's name made Patrick ball up his fist "What does one have to do with the other, Sonny?"

"Well, I've been told that a love like that only comes around once in a person's life. My daughter deserves to be loved like that one day. Wouldn't you agree?"

"And what the hell makes you think that I can't love her like that?" Patrick said trying to muffle the anger in his voice.

"Well…. It's been over a year and a half since Robin died, Patrick. And I notice you still haven't taken off your wedding ring. And if I've noticed it, you can bet your ass my daughter has too."

With that Sonny took another sip of champagne and walked over to Olivia. Leaving Patrick with a truth he hadn't yet faced. He looked back toward Sabrina as she was finishing her song, then down to his left hand. As much as he hated to admit it, Sonny was right. Sabrina never brought it up, but she wasn't blind. Patrick knew she must have noticed and just chose not to say anything out of respect. She was always doing things like that. Thinking of his feelings before her own. Giving him time to mourn and heal without pushing. As Sabrina finished singing and the applause began, Patrick tried to shake out the doubts Sonny just tried to put into his head. He didn't care if Sonny believed him or not. He did love Sabrina. And he was committed to her and only her. Unbeknownst to Patrick, Sonny was about to inadvertently test just how committed he actually was in more ways than one.


	14. Chapter 14

CH 14

"Ugh!" Sabrina said throwing her dirty scrubs into the hamper.

"What on earth happened to you?" Elizabeth asked entering the locker room.

"Let's just say Mrs. Baxter in room 507 really doesn't like spinach. She decided it would look better on me than in her."

Elizabeth couldn't hold in her laughter. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you about that one. Picky eater with a cannon of an arm."

"Who are you telling?" Sabrina laughed as she took a seat on the bench.

"So how was the wedding last night?" Elizabeth asked opening her locker.

Um... it was nice. Yeah. Really nice" She answered

"Really? It doesn't sound like it."

"No, it was" Sabrina sighed. "It's just that Sonny and Patrick got into it yet again."

"What about this time?"

"I don't even know. I mean, at first it was about something to do with the investigation with Britt's mother. But I think something else happened after that."

"What makes you think that?" Elizabeth asked closing her locker and sitting next to Sabrina on the bench.

"Well I had to sing Mac and Felicia's wedding song, don't ask! But when I was up there, I noticed they were having a pretty intense conversation about something."

"Did you ask Patrick what it was about?"

"Yeah but he just said it was nothing. And that was pretty much all he said when we got home last night. He was so quiet and distant. And he was already gone when I woke up this morning." Sabrina looked at the picture of them hanging on her locker door and then down at her feet.

"Hey what's going on?" Elizabeth asked placing her hand on Sabrina's shoulder.

"Nothing, I just…. I feel like he's pulling away from me. And for a reason that I can't help and didn't even ask for."

"Sonny" They said in unison.

"I know this is tough for him, and I know he's trying, I'm just not sure what I can do differently to help him through this"

Elizabeth sighed "You know I love Patrick and I'm one of the biggest cheerleaders of your relationship, but Sabrina…. this isn't something for you to help HIM through. You had your entire life rewritten in one night. He should be helping YOU through this. Not picking petty fights with Sonny because he can't let go of the past."

"Your right, but Sonny isn't exactly an innocent bystander. They push each other's buttons. I've never seen anything like it."

"All I can tell you, Sabrina is don't let either one make you choose between them. You have the right to get to know your father AND be with the man you love. And the first one who tries to push you on that, cut them loose." Elizabeth shrugged. She was always so direct with her advice to Sabrina. It was always black and white with no shades of gray. Sabrina appreciated her friendship.

"Just like that, huh?" Sabrina chuckled.

"Yep. Just like that. And while I'm in the advice giving mood, and I give you one more?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Don't hate Juan for too long." That last part made Sabrina slam her locker shut. "I know you don't want to her this, Sabrina" Elizabeth continued "But he loves you so much. He honestly thought he was doing what he needed to do to protect you."

"And how do you know that?" Sabrina asked with annoyance in her voice.

"I ran into him a few times the week everything came out and you wouldn't take his calls. We used to be friends many moons ago. And I know personally how hard he'll fight for the people he cares about."

"Thanks. I'll take that into consideration" Sabrina said abruptly. She didn't want to be rude. She understood that Elizabeth's words came from a good place but the last thing she wanted to talk about was Juan. "So your shift is almost over. What are you and the boys getting into tonight?"

"I'm not sure yet. Hanging out with their uncle probably."

Sabrina gave Elizabeth an inquisitive look "Nikolas?" She asked

"No, actually…"

"OH… EM… GEE!" Felix came running into the locker room clutching his chest as if he was having a heart attack. Normally this would cause Sabrina and Elizabeth to think something was actually wrong with him, but this was Felix. Whatever it was, it wasn't physically.

"What is it now?" Sabrina asked as she walked over to the mirror to brush her hair

"I think I just met my soul mate." Felix exclaimed leaning up against the wall with stars in his eyes.

"Oh Great." Elizabeth said with little interest.

"Yeah. Great" Sabrina added.

Felix shot up straight from his position on the wall in disgust "Did you two hens here me? I said I've met the man of my dreams!"

"Yeah we heard you Felix" Sabrina said

"We also heard you when you said that last week." Elizabeth chuckled looking at Sabrina

"And the week before that!" They said together buckling over in laughter.

Felix rolled his eyes "Whatever. I'm serious this time. The new Doctor is Grade A fine."

"Oh Felix" Sabrina said turning away from the mirror "It's one thing to chase after straight bodyguards, but I think chasing after a straight doctor may be crossing the line a little."

"First of all honey, I don't chase. I bait and reel. And Secondly, who said he was straight?"

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Lucas Jones?" Elizabeth asked

"Yeah! You know him?"

"Not very well. The last time he was in town was when his father passed away. That was over 7 years ago. I heard he was on staff but haven't seen him yet. I will say this, you're right. He is gay."

"I knew it! He gave me the look"

"What look?" Sabrina laughed

"Like I was what's for dinner. And who knows, I might be." Felix winked

"Oh my god" Sabrina busted out laughing with Elizabeth right behind her. "I can't deal with you right now. I have to get back to work"

"Oh by the way Daddy Mobster is at the nurses' station looking for you."

"Really Felix? Daddy Mobster?" Sabrina rolled her eyes and headed out of the locker room.

"What I say?!" Felix called after her

Sabrina found Sonny standing at the nurses' station looking through his phone. "Hey," She said when she reached him. "What's going on? I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Yeah I wanted to talk you some more about our conversation last night." He replied placing a kiss on her cheek.

"About….?" She asked confused.

"About me hiring someone to stay close…"

"Oh, the bodyguard thing? The thing that I told you wasn't necessary? That thing?" She smirked

"Yes, that thing. I know you may not feel like you need it, but it really would make me feel a little better."

"Sonny…"

"Please. For me?" He asked flashing the same dimples Patrick always used to get his way.

"I just can't win" She thought out loud. "Fine, but there have got to be some parameters set."

"Well, I'll let the two of you hash out all the details. There he is now" Sonny said looking over Sabrina's shoulder to the elevator.

Sabrina turned around to find a man in front her about 6'3, hazel eyes with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail. Sabrina stepped back a little. He was gorgeous. She instantly felt guilty for thinking that, but he was.

"About time you got here." Sonny said breaking Sabrina out of her thoughts "This is my daughter Sabrina Santiago. Sabrina, this is…"

"Ethan? What are you doing here?" Elizabeth called walking up behind them with Felix in tow. "I thought we were going to meet at my house."

"Oh yes dear. We are. I just had to some business to tend to with Sonny here first" Ethan replied. The minute Sabrina heard his Australian accent she became flushed.

"What kind of business?" Elizabeth asked suspiciously.

"Ethan is going to keep an eye on Sabrina for me. Nothing major. As I was saying, Sabrina, this is Ethan Lovett." Sonny replied.

Ethan took Sabrina's hand and placed a kiss on top of it "Please to make you acquaintance."

Sabrina blushed "Likewise" she whispered. "Wait, Ethan? This is Lucky's brother, right?" She asked Elizabeth.

"Yep. This is the uncle I meant earlier. Can't say I knew he was in the personal security business though." She replied.

"Well, I've been back in town now for a couple weeks. I needed to do something." Ethan smiled

"What about the Haunted Star?" Elizabeth asked

"Ethan here was looking for something a little different." Sonny interjected. "Now, I have a meeting across town, so I'll leave you two to get better acquainted. And Ethan, don't forget about what we discussed." He said firmly before getting on the elevator to leave.

"Elizabeth, please don't start" Ethan said reading his onetime sister in law's mind.

Before Elizabeth could give her two cents about his working for Sonny, her pager went off. "I'm needed in the ER, but we will definitely talk about this later." She stated before turning to leave.

Sabrina and Ethan stood there awkwardly for a few moments. Ethan tried his best not to stare. Sonny had told Ethan a lot about Sabrina, but he failed to mention how beautiful she was. This was going to be a tougher assignment than he originally thought.

"Um... Hi!" Felix said breaking the tension "I'm Felix, the best friend. No need to pat me down…. That is unless you want to."

"Felix!" Said exclaimed lightly hitting him in the abdomen.

Ethan chuckled "So anyway, about this detail Sonny wants me on…"

"Yeah about that, I really don't think it's necessary but if he's so adamant about it, there are just a few things we need to make clear. First, I don't need to be followed at work. I think I'm pretty safe in the hospital."

"Really? Because Sonny said that you and little Emma Drake were kidnapped from said hospital" Ethan smirked.

"He's got you there" Felix laughed

"And since then" Sabrina said rolling her eyes "Hospital security has been enhanced."

"Be that as it may, Ms. Santiago, your father wants me to ensure your safety at all times. And that's exactly what I intend to do." Ethan vowed practically looking through her. Something in this man's eyes sent chills up Sabrina's spine.

Before Sabrina could think of a comeback, she saw Patrick coming down the hallway. "Hey. What's going on here?" He said noticing the three of them huddled together.

"Patrick, long time mate" Ethan said shaking Patrick's hand.

"Yeah it has been. I heard you were back in town. You're not a patient are you?"

"Who me? Please. I have 9 lives" Ethan chuckled. "No, I am here for Ms. Santiago."

Patrick looked at Sabrina and noticed she was blushing "In what manner?" He asked.

"Remember last night at the wedding I told you Sonny wanted me to have a bodyguard? Well…." Sabrina answered motioning to Ethan.

"Oh wow" Patrick said genuinely surprised. "I didn't know you were in the bodyguard business. Or that you were working for a man who pulled a gun on you once."

"Wait, what?!" Sabrina questioned.

"Long story" Ethan chuckled "A lot has changed since then"

"I can tell" Patrick stated plainly.

"Anyway, I can see you're a bit busy at the moment, Ms. Santiago." Ethan began.

"Sabrina…" She whispered "You can call me Sabrina."

"Well then, Sabrina. We will table these negotiations for a later time. I should go find Elizabeth so she can yell at me or whatever. It was a pleasure." There was that look again. Sabrina didn't know if Ethan was doing it on purpose or not, but it was making her light headed. "Good day to you all" He said as he disappeared behind the elevator doors.

"I tried to tell Sonny it wasn't necessary, Patrick" Sabrina said trying to redirect her attention.

"It's fine. Your safety is all that matters. I have a consultation to get to. We'll talk more about it later." Patrick turned to leave before Sabrina could even respond. He didn't want her to see the envy in his face. He noticed the way Ethan was looking at Sabrina. That didn't upset him too much. Sabrina was beautiful. She got looks like that all the time. Sabrina obviously being affected by it was what was making Patrick angry. He needed to cool down before he did or said something he couldn't take back.

"I hate you so much right now." Felix said after Patrick was out of earshot.

"Why? What did I do?" Sabrina asked

"Girl, THAT is your bodyguard? Ugh. Some girls have all the luck. Your about to be full on Rachel Marron and I hate you for it."

Sabrina looked at Felix puzzled "Who?"

"Never mind. I'll school you on fabulous movies later. All I know is that man there has all the makings to get you into a world of trouble."

Felix fully meant his last statement as a joke. Neither he nor Sabrina had any idea how true it would turn out to be.


	15. Chapter 15

CH 15

"Is he just going to stand there?" Felix asked looking up from his BLT.

Sabrina turned around to look at Ethan who was standing in the corner of Kelly's. He had been shadowing Sabrina for a couple weeks now and she still wasn't used to it. He was being really good at not invading her personal space, but she didn't like that it looked as if she had hired help.

"Seems that way" She replied turning back to Felix.

"Well, I guess there are worse things than being followed around by an Aussie hottie. That man is all types of fine."

"Is he? I hadn't really noticed." Sabrina said trying to play it cool.

Felix dropped his french fry with outrage on his face. "Girl, please. You may be lost in the Land of Drake, but I know damn well your contacts are as clear as day. Stop playing."

Sabrina looked back at Ethan as he was looking outside the window of Kelly's surveying the area. He didn't look much like a bodyguard to Sabrina. She actually thought he was too thin. Not nearly as ripped as Milo. But she assumed body weight didn't matter considering the 9mm he had positioned in his back waist band. And he definitely didn't dress like a bodyguard. At least not like Max does when he's with Sonny. Ethan had on a white buttoned down shirt over a white tank top and stonewashed jeans with a chain connected to his wallet. His hair was almost always pulled back, except on this day. Sabrina watched as he ran his fingers through it to get it out of face. There was something so captivating about this man. As if he felt her eyes on him, Ethan turned his attention away from the outside of the restaurant and met Sabrina's eyes with his and smiled.

Sabrina gave a shy smile back and quickly turned around. She could feel her face turning read.

"Yep. You've definitely noticed" Felix grinned.

"Whatever. What about you? How is the pursuit of Dr Jones going?"

"At a snail's pace so far. That reminds me, I have to get over to the hospital now." He said wiping his hands and standing up from the table.

"Wait, I thought you were off today?"

"I was but I picked up an extra shift on his service. No way on earth I'm going to be playing this as slowly as you did with Dr Dreamboat."

"So you're just going to leave me here by myself?" Sabrina pouted

"No, I'm leaving you here with the eye candy from down under." Felix winked as he headed out the door.

Sabrina fumbled around with her fries for awhile thinking about her "Dr. Dreamboat" as Felix liked to put it. Things between them were still a little awkward since the Sonny bomb was dropped on them, but he was trying. Unfortunately, Sabrina could read him like a book. She knew he wasn't happy with that or with Ethan being around so much but he didn't say it out loud. Ethan must have felt it too because he always excused himself whenever he saw Patrick coming. He canvassed the area around their house when he escorted Sabrina home but he never went inside or tagged along when the two of them went out together or with Emma. Ethan seemed to be going out of his way not to intrude on Sabrina's life and she appreciated that. She turned around to Ethan still standing in the same spot and motioned for him to come over to her table.

"Is there something you need, Ms. Santiago?" He asked as he approached her.

"Yes there is actually. First, I need you to stop calling me Ms. Santiago. Secondly, I need you to sit down and join me."

Ethan looked a bit uneasy as her request. Sabrina may have thought he was being so professional about keeping his distance out of respect for her, but the truth was just the scent of her hair made Ethan lose focus. But who was he to deny the boss' daughter? He sat down across from her but kept his eyes at the door behind her causing Sabrina to chuckle.

"What?" Ethan asked

"You really need to relax. I highly doubt anyone is going to run in here guns blazing with all these people here."

"You never know" Ethan smiled.

"So, can I ask you something?"

"Uh…. Sure. I guess" Ethan shifted in his seat.

"What's this about Sonny pulling a gun on you?" She asked

"Oh that. Let's just say he thought I hurt Kristina and was NOT happy about it."

"So you didn't hurt her?" She pressed.

"Of course not. I would never do anything to hurt Kristina. It was a big misunderstanding but it was all worked out. Sonny felt bad about the whole thing. I think that's why he asked me to look after you."

"You think that's the only reason?"

Ethan noticed the suspicion on her face "Are you insinuating something else, Ms. Sant... I mean, Sabrina."

"Maybe" Sabrina said coyly as she sipped her iced tea. She remembered the comment Sonny made to Ethan about a conversation they had but didn't want to play all her cards so soon.

"So can I ask you a question?" Ethan said.

"Sure"

"How have you been doing with this whole new Dad thing?"

Sabrina was actually taken aback by his question. He might be the first person to actually ask her how she felt about her entire life being turned upside down outside of Dante. "It's been…. Interesting to say the least. Finding out your father is in a less than honorable business is a little shocking to the system" She replied.

Ethan smiled "Yeah, been there. I didn't know Luke was my Dad until a few years ago, myself. It's almost like you go through an identity crisis. Especially when you find out the guy has a rap sheet bigger than the whole Outback."

"Exactly" Sabrina laughed. "I guess we have a lot in common. Other than kind of being related."

Ethan looked confused for a moment "Oh Dante and Lulu. Yeah… there's that." He said nervously. He was now even more uncomfortable about his attraction to her.

Sabrina and Ethan continued to talk about their respective fathers and their alleged crimes. She found it very easy to speak to him. Not only was he easy on the eyes, but he really understood how Sabrina was feeling. He didn't judge, he didn't push. He just listened and told her his story in hopes she would be able to take something from it. Ethan was definitely a good guy and someone Sabrina hope would become less of a bodyguard and more of a friend.

* * *

"Anna, we need to talk" Sonny said walking into the police station.

"I'm a little busy right now Mr. Corinthos. Unless you're under arrest, you're going to need to take a number" She replied moving about the bustling station.

"Ok. When would you like to talk about the fact that you've met Lisa Obrecht before?" He replied causing Anna to stop in her tracks.

"Come with me" She said leading him into the empty interrogation room. "What are you talking about Sonny?" She said once the door was closed.  
"I told you I was leading my own investigation into that nut job. Imagine my surprise when my men came back to me with information about a clinic in Switzerland that you traveled to last year."

"Sonny, you have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Alright" He said sitting in a chair across from her. "Enlighten me"

Anna sighed. Realizing Sonny wasn't going to stop until he got the information he wanted, she relented. She told him about Heather's crazy accusations about Robin being alive. She told him that when she went to look for herself she didn't find anything other than a brochure to a clinic in Switzerland and everything else that transpired about her trip there. "I didn't know she was Britt's mother until the night Sabrina and Emma were kidnapped." She ended.

"And Patrick doesn't know anything about this?" Sonny questioned.

"I didn't see a need to tell him at the time, Sonny. We didn't find anything. It was nothing more than another one of Heather's mind games. Why would I tell him about that?"

"I agree with you on that, but what about now? Now that we know she's connected to someone who was in Patrick's life. It doesn't strike you a little odd that while looking into Heather's story about Robin, you came across the mother of someone Patrick was dating at the time? Or better yet, that she was trying to trap Patrick by using my grandson?"

Anna started putting the pieces together in her head "I honestly hadn't thought about it like that before."

"Something about this isn't right Anna. I can feel it. There is more to this."

"Is this why you have Ethan watching Sabrina, because you're so worried about her safety?" Anna asked warily.

Sonny went silent for a moment "That's one of the reasons." He smirked and stood up from his chair. "Listen, with Britt's trial starting tomorrow, and until you catch her lunatic of a mother, I want to make sure my daughter is safe. Although it's clear to me that whatever her motive is, it goes way beyond Sabrina." Sonny turned at walked out of the interrogation room leaving Anna with her thoughts.

She hated to admit when Sonny was right. She had been keeping Patrick out of it because she didn't want to upset him. He had been doing so much better since Sabrina made him and Emma a family again. She didn't want to bring any undue stress to that if she didn't have to. But Sonny had a point. Something about this didn't feel right. Lisa Obrecht had other motives. Anna just couldn't figure out what they were.

"Davidson" Anna called to one of her officers "I need about 5 plain clothed officers at the court house tomorrow for the trial of Britt Westbourne. Get them up to speed on the search for her mother. Position them around the entrances and stairways. They should look like they belong though. Maybe find them some maintenance uniforms to wear."

"No problem boss" Davidson replied "Is something going down?"

"I'm not sure yet. But if it were, that would be the likely place for it to happen. No way she sits idly by and allows them to carry her daughter off to prison." It was as if Anna was having one of Olivia's wacky yet always accurate visions. Port Charles' most wanted was closer than they realized and she was ready to make a trade with the Commissioner. One daughter for another.


	16. Chapter 16

CH 16

"Boss, Mr. Lovett is here to see you" Max said entering the living room of the Corinthos compound with Ethan following.

"Thanks Max" Sonny replied as Max turned to leave. "Why aren't you with my daughter?"

"She's at home with her family. I think she's safe there. Don't you?"

Sonny took a sip of his scotch "That's yet to be determined."

"Wow" Ethan laughed "You really don't like Dr. Drake, huh?"

"It's not about liking him or not liking him. It's about making sure he's as committed to her as she is to him."

"Well, it seems like he is to me." Ethan shrugged.

"It's possible. She is a beautiful girl. Isn't she?" Sonny smirked.

Ethan looked down at the floor "Listen, I don't know exactly what you're expecting from me, Sonny, but I can tell you now that I do not plan on interfering in Sabrina's personal life. Yes, she is very beautiful. And very taken."

"The only thing permanent in life is change, Ethan. You would smart to remember that." Sonny replied.

"If you say so. Look, you asked me to keep her safe, and I will gladly do so. But I have no intentions of falling for someone that I can't have."

"Really? Because it seems to me like you already have." Sonny returned

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ethan diverted his eyes an in effort to hide how true Sonny's statement was.

"Yeah, ok" Sonny said taking a final sip of his scotch. "Listen, I need you at the courthouse tomorrow. That Dr. Westbourne, her trial starts tomorrow. Sabrina and Patrick are due to testify. Come prepared, if you know what I mean."

"I'll be there, but I can't take my gun into a federal building, Sonny."

Sonny laughed and placed his empty glass on the coffee table. "Oh Ethan. You are going to learn very soon that everyday rules don't apply to me."

* * *

"What on earth is all of this?" Sabrina said as she stepped into the house. The entire living room was lit by candles and garnished with Calla Lilies and Orchids. Her favorite flowers. She saw strawberries and whipped cream on the table next to a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. "Patrick?" She called out.

"Well it's about time you got home" Patrick said as he entered the room. Before Sabrina could reply he pulled her into his arms and kissed her so passionately it damn near took her breath away.

"Wow" She sighed when he finally pulled his lips from hers "What was that for?"

"I need a reason to kiss you?" He replied arms still around her waist.

"No, but what about the rest of this?" She asked looking around the room.

"I just missed you all day." He said placing kisses along her neck "Hmm. You smell amazing."

Sabrina giggled at the feeling of Patrick's beard on her collar bone. "Patrick, as nice as this is, where is Emma?"

"Sleepover" He mumbled.

"Patrick" she laughed "Stop" Patrick did as she asked and took a step back. "Hey. Why did you stop?" She pouted.

"You told me to" He smiled.

"I didn't mean it. Come back here."

"No. Not yet. I want you to do something for me first."

"Anything"

"Take off your clothes." He said sternly.

"I beg your pardon?" She replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You heard me."

Sabrina folded her arms across her body and cocked her head to the side contemplating his demand. "No" She said plainly.

"No? Miss Santiago, I do believe the doctor just gave you an order. Are you disobeying me?"

"Not exactly. If you want me Dr. Drake, you take them off." She said seductively walking past him. The second her back was to him he reached for the zipper on her dress pulling it down to expose her bare back. With his right hand he reached inside her dress and around the front until his finger tips landed on her belly button. With his left hand he moved her hair to the side and began tracing a path along his favorite freckles on her neck with his lips. "Patrick…" She moaned.

Patrick spun her around so that they were face to face. He took the straps of her dress in each hand and dropped them from her shoulders. "God, you are beautiful." He stated as her dress hit the floor.

"And I'm all yours" She whispered. That declaration made Patrick's heart skip a beat. He lifted Sabrina up in his arms so that her legs were straddled around his waist. He carried her back to the couch and laid her down. They wouldn't make it to the bedroom on that night. The fire between them couldn't wait. He took an ice cube from the bucket holding the champagne and placed it between is lips. He started at her ankle and worked his way up the length of her body. Leaving a trail of damp skin in his path. Sabrina arched her back at the feeling of cold ice on her legs, stomach and neck. She had never experienced such pleasure and pain. When the ice had melted, Patrick sat up from his position atop of her and began pulling at the buttons on his shirt. Sabrina reached up and tore at his shirt sending the buttons flying in opposite directions. Patrick wasn't the only one who could be demanding.

"Make love to me." She pleaded.

Her wish was his command. They made their way from the couch to the floor and back again. Patrick lost all sense of time, space or reason when she was in arms reach. She WAS his and there was nothing that was going to change that. No tension between them over Sonny or Ethan or anything for that matter was greater than the love they had for each other. He was in love with this woman to the point that he felt physical pain every time they were apart for too long. He was a better person because of her. It was more than just how she made him and Emma better, a little less alone. He was better because he saw himself in Sabrina's eyes. He wanted nothing more in life than to make her happy, to make her proud and to make her feel loved. He made love to her that night in a way that would ensure she felt just that. She was loved. She was wanted. And she was safe. He made love to her to prove that he would always be the only man for her.

A few hours later they finally came up for air. "That was..." Sabrina said trying to catch her breath.

"Incredible" Patrick said completing her sentence.

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"Oh, you have another description?" He questioned.

"Well, earth shattering comes to mind" She smiled.

Patrick laughed "I'll take that" he replied placing a kiss on top of her head.

"What on earth got into you, by the way? Not that I'm complaining" She giggled.

"What can I say, you bring out the animal in me" He said as he began to tickle her in the places he knew would make her squeal. And it did.

"Patrick! Stop. Be nice" She exclaimed moving away from his grasp on the floor of their living room.

"Aww I'm sorry. Come back" He begged tugging at her waist. He ran his fingers through her hair and placed a soft kiss on her cheek bone.

"That's more like it" she said resting her head back on his chest.

"Hey, I want to talk to you about something" He said in a serious tone.

"Is everything ok?" she asked curiously.

"No." He said sitting up against the couch to face her "I have been a complete jerk these last few weeks with the whole Sonny thing. That has not been fair to you. I haven't been considering your confliction with this, just my own. And I am truly sorry for that. I never want you to feel as though you can't talk to me or lean on me. I am always here for you. We hold each other up."

Sabrina smiled. She had been so worried that he was pulling away from her recently. She didn't want to tell him, but it scared her. "Patrick. I know this has been hard on you too. I don't blame you for your feelings."

"No, but the way I've been acting, you can blame me for that. It's been unacceptable. That's not the man I want to be for you. I don't want to be the guy that runs and hides when things get bumpy. I don't want to be the guy that you ever have to question 'Does he love me enough?' I need you to know that I do and that I always will. And I need to do a better job of proving that. Starting right now." Patrick looked over to his wedding band that was sitting on top of a book on the coffee table.

Sabrina's eyes followed his to the ring and then to his hand "Your ring… You took it off?" She asked.

"Yeah. It was time." He said solemnly. "I feel like it's been an unspoken barrier in our relationship for a while now. Truth is I would forget I was still wearing it sometimes. But I know you had to have noticed."

"Patrick I know how much you loved Robin. I didn't want to push" She replied

He took her hand into his "I know you didn't. Thank you for that. And you're right, I did love Robin. Very much and for a very long time. I didn't want to at first. That woman had the power to infuriate me like no other." He laughed "But she also had the power to make my worse day a little better. She taught me how to love. I feel like in her own way, she led me to you."

Sabrina tried to blink away the tears that were beginning to form "You mean with the DVD she made you?"

"No, more than that. I think Robin always felt as though she was living on borrowed time. And as much as she wanted to be with me and Emma, she knew there would come a day that she wouldn't be. I feel like she was preparing me for that, ya know? In little subtle ways that I didn't even notice. She was preparing me to continue on and be ok with giving my heart to someone else."

"Wow" was all Sabrina could say. Her heart was racing and her vision was blurred from her tears. She had been patiently waiting for his moment and here it was. It was all she could to keep her hands from shaking.

"And now" Patrick said cupping her face in his hand "Her work is finished, Sabrina. She accomplished what she set out to do. I can feel that now. And I can let her go. Not because she wasn't important in my life or because I've forgotten her, but because I've learned what I needed to from her. I was wearing my wedding ring to honor Robin's memory. But you, me and Emma being a family, there is no better way to honor her than that."

"I love you so much" Sabrina smiled.

"I love you more" He replied pulling her lips to his. Sabrina melted in his arms. She was on a cloud so high that it didn't have a number. She thought back to where they started on that September afternoon when they first met and where they were now. If she had to write a book on her fantasies of this man, it wouldn't come anywhere close to the reality. She had no doubts in her mind about his loyalty or commitment or his love. She was always his but now she truly felt that he was completely hers as well. As they lay on the floor immersed in each other, Sabrina silently signed over her heart to Patrick Drake for eternity. It was now his job not to break it.


	17. Chapter 17

CH 17

"Hey, did I hear the doorbell when I was in the shower?" Sabrina asked Patrick while drying her hair.

"Yeah it was Beth's mom. She brought Emma home." He replied

"Really? I thought she was going to spend the day with them since they have a school holiday."

"I thought that too. She said Emma was upset about something and wanted to come home. She didn't seem to want to talk about it though. At least not to me. She's downstairs on the couch flipping through cartoons. I think this might be a girl thing." He chuckled.

"Oh really? Well let me go talk to her. We have to be at the courthouse in an hour." She said walking past Patrick.

"Don't remind me." He said following behind her. They found Emma lying on the couch staring blankly at the Home Shopping Network.

"Um Emma sweetie, are you ok?" Sabrina asked sitting next to her on the couch. Emma simply nodded her head yes.

Patrick reached for the remote and turned off the TV. "Emma's what's going on?" He asked

Emma sat up straight and looked at Sabrina "I don't want to be a Brownie anymore." She said.

"Oh. Is that all? Well we're not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, but I thought you liked the Scouts."

"I do." She whispered

"So why don't you want to do it anymore?" Sabrina asked.

Emma pulled her legs into her arms and put her head down

"Mija, you know you can talk to me about anything right? I won't be upset or mad." Sabrina said running her fingers through Emma's hair.

"There's a mother daughter bake sale next week. Beth said that I can't do it because I don't have a mommy anymore." Emma said with tears in her eyes.

Sabrina exchanged a worried look with Patrick. "Oh Em's" She said pulling her into her arms. "I know how you feel."

"Because your mommy's in heaven too?"

"Well... yeah." Sabrina replied. They had told Emma about Sonny, but they didn't explain the entire story to her. There was no way Emma would be able to understand something that Sabrina was still unclear of herself. For all she knew, Lily could be dead also. "I know it's hard for you. When I was a little girl, I got sad at all the things other kids were able to do with their mothers that I couldn't. But ya know what, that's what family is for, to step in and help you through it. And you have so many people who love you so much. You have your daddy…"

"Daddy can't bake!" Emma said causing Sabrina to laugh.

"You're right about that one. He can't."

"Hey, I could learn" Patrick pouted.

"I don't think so. But you have your Grandma Anna…"

"What about you?" Emma said lifting her head from Sabrina's lap. "You will do it with me?"

Sabrina looked up to Patrick who nodded in approval "If that's what you want, sure. We can to it together. Just you and I. Would you like that?"

Emma threw her arms around Sabrina's neck "I knew it. We're going to be a family. Just the three of us." She said excitedly.

"Yeah we are." Patrick added. He loved how much Emma loves Sabrina. She was everything he could have ever wanted for his daughter.

"You promise?" Emma said looking up at her father.

"Yes. I promise. We're a family. In every way that matters" He winked

"So listen" Sabrina said after Emma finally loosened her grip "How about you think of some perfect treats for us to make. And when we get home, we'll decide on one together. How about that?"

"Ok" Emma smiled. "Where are you guys going?"

"We have to go to court for a couple hours. Remember, we talked about it." Patrick responded

"Is the mean lady finally going away?" Emma asked.

"Yep. The mean lady will never bother us again." Sabrina replied with a smile

* * *

Sabrina and Patrick made it to the court house just as people where filing into the chambers. It looked as though all of Port Charles was there. And every media outlet you could imagine on top of that. Britt's case garnered national attention due to the unique and bizarre nature of her crimes. There was delay after delay due to the fact that the DA had no idea exactly what to charge her with. Everything her and Brad did was enough to have medical license stripped without hesitation, but there was no real legal statute for impregnating yourself with another couples embryo and attempting to pass the baby off as your own. The DA's office finally settled on Grand Theft and Larceny, Conspiracy, Tampering with Evidence, Child Endangerment and Kidnapping. Conviction of any one of those would send her to Pentonville for at least 5 years. All of them would result in 25. Sabrina and Patrick weren't too picky about either, but Dante wanted her sent away for life if he could get it.

"Hey" Sabrina said as she and Patrick sat next to Dante and Lulu.

"Hey… sis" Dante replied.

"How are you guys holding up?"

"We're good. We have our son. That's all that matters. Right Dante?" Lulu replied clearly more forgiving than her husband.

"Yeah" Dante said trying to bite his tongue. He couldn't however hide the daggers he was staring into the back of Britt's head as she sat at the defense table. This was the first time Sabrina had seen Britt since she offered her halfhearted apology in her hospital room. As much as Sabrina wanted to hate Britt, the only thing she really felt for her at this point was pity. She had the man, the house, the daughter, the career. All Britt had waiting for her was commissary and yard time. Sabrina almost started to feel sorry for her. Almost.

Sabrina felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Sonny standing behind her. "Did I miss anything?" He asked.

"No I think it's about to start in a few." She replied.

"Ethan, over here" Sonny called as Ethan walked into the courtroom. They took a seat directly behind Lulu and Dante.

"Hi. I didn't know you were going to be here" Sabrina said.

"Yeah well, Sonny here is a paranoid one." Ethan smiled.

"You call it paranoia, I call it being prepared." Sonny smirked

"Jeez, is the whole town here?" Ethan said looking about the packed room "It's a circus."

"Her actions hurt a lot of people." Patrick replied. He hadn't even turned around to acknowledge Sonny or Ethan's presence. He meant every world of his apology to Sabrina the night before, but now wasn't the moment for him to make nice just yet. Seeing Britt again reignited his anger for everything she put him through. She may not have directly had anything to do with Sabrina and Emma's kidnapping. But she was guilty of much more. Like making him fall in love with a baby that wasn't his.

"Hey are we late?" Anna asked walking behind them with Duke in tow.

"No it looks like you're just in time" Patrick replied.

"All rise. The Honorable Judge Matthews presiding." The Bailiff announced as everyone in the court room rose to their feet.

"Be seated. The State of New York versus Britt Westbourne. Wow… you have quite the laundry list of charges here. Should I ask how you plead to these individually or all together? Counsel?"

"Together, your honor" Diane Miller responded

Judge Matthews read the list of charges in front of her "How do you plead, Dr.?" she asked

"Not guilty, your honor" Britt replied.

"Figures. After all this, she still can't own up to what she did" Patrick said in disgust.

"Your honor, I move that all charges against my client be dropped" Diane stated in typical Diane fashion.

"On what grounds" The judge said already annoyed.

"On the grounds that this is simply a misunderstanding, you're honor. A momentary lapse in judgment if you will"

"That's definitely one way of putting it, Ms. Miller. Either way, your motion is denied. Now, would the prosecution like to call its first witness?"

"Yes your honor. The state calls Sabrina Santiago."

Sabrina stood, walked to the stand and placed her hand on the bible and pledged her honesty "I, Sabrina Santiago promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me God."

The prosecutor approached the bench ready to ask Sabrina the first question when there was what sounded like an explosion from the back of the room. Everyone in the chambers hit the floor in a panic at the sound of ceiling tiles crashing to the floor. In a commotion people began looking around to see if the person next to them was ok. If they were ok. Sabrina, however sat frozen in her seat fixated on the creature by the door. Paralyzed in fear and unable to catch her breath. She felt a panic attack coming and the walls beginning to cave in. She was back in the parking garage, then in the van, then in a makeshift coffin with a leaking generator. She was back in her own personal hell. No, it couldn't be. When the rest of room finally looked to the entrance of the courtroom, they saw Lisa Obrecht standing there with a smile on her face and a gun in her hand pointed to the ceiling.

"Mother, what the hell are you doing?!" Britt screamed jumping up from her seat.

"What does it look like Britta?" She smirked in her thick accent. "Mother's come to take you home."

"You really think it's going to be that easy" Anna said reaching for her gun.

"Now now commissioner. I wouldn't do that if I were you" She said pointing the gun at Anna "See, I've got something you want. And if you kill me, well, you'll never get it back."

"Patrick where is Emma!?" Anna asked frantically.

"We… we dropped her off at daycare." Patrick replied with fear in his voice.

"I swear to god if you hurt my granddaughter…"

"Wrong again. I don't have his daughter Commissioner Devane. I have yours."


	18. Chapter 18

CH 18

"What the hell did you just say?" Anna said with shock on her face. There was a hush over the entire court room. Partly due to fear of the woman holding the gun, but also with intrigue and curiosity.

"You heard me, Commissioner." Dr. Obrecht replied

"I don't know what kind of stunt your trying to pull here, Doctor, but I'm not falling for it. Drop your weapon!"

"It's no stunt. Your precious Robin is alive and well."

"You really expect me to believe that?" Anna asked

"Well you did before, remember? You tracked her all the way to Switzerland."

"Anna what the hell is she talking about?" Patrick interjected

"Ah, you didn't fill Dr. Drake in on your little adventure last year, I see."

"It was a wild goose chase, Patrick. There was nothing to tell." Anna replied

"Oh Commissioner, you have no clue how close you actually were. Robert knows though. He actually saw her his little girl. That's why he had to be silenced." Dr. Obrecht said referring to Robin's father who was still in a coma almost a year later. Anna looked at Patrick then back at Dr. Obrecht. This couldn't possibly be true.

"This is ridiculous. Your feeding me lies and false dreams is not going to save your daughter!" Anna yelled.

"And you sending my daughter off the prison won't save yours." She retuned keeping the gun pointed squarely at Anna. "I see that you need proof. And lucky for you I have that." She slowly reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled out a cellphone and tossed it to Anna.

"I will have order in my court room!" Judge Matthews tried to intervene banging her gavel.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Anna asked ignoring the judge.

"That would be a live feed of her hospital room."

Anna looked at the video on the phone and all the color drained from her face. There she was. Her little girl lying in a hospital bed. Patrick looked over to see what Anna was looking at and damn near lost control of his legs. Surely his eyes were deceiving him. As they were trying to make out the image on the phone, Sabrina who had remained seated on the bench in shock slowly made her way toward the prosecutions table.

"I… I don't understand. What kind of game is this?" Anna said

"No game Commissioner. That is a live video of your daughter alive at Ferncliff as we speak."

"No…. I looked there… " Anna whispered

"Anna, what the hell is going on?! What is she talking about?!" Patrick's voice rose with each word.

Anna looked at the distress on Patrick's face and realized she had to tell him the truth. She told him about how she decided to follow up on Heather's claim about seeing Robin at Ferncliff and then following that lead to Switzerland. "I know I should have told you Patrick. I'm sorry, but what was I going to tell you? Every lead I found was just another dead end." She sighed.

"And how do we know this is real?" Patrick asked looking back at the video feed on the cellphone.

"Look at the time stamp, Dr. Drake. That is a live video." Patrick looked again and saw Robin shift in her bed. She opened her eyes and looked around the empty room with sadness on her face. He couldn't believe his eyes. His first love, the mother of his daughter was alive. He traced the outline of her face with his hand on the phone in disbelief. When he lost her he felt like he had lost his ability to breathe, to live. But there she was. He couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"So here's the deal" Dr. Obrecht began breaking into the silence "You give me my daughter, and I will give you yours."

Before Anna could respond 2 officers in civilian clothing ran through the entrance behind Dr. Obrecht and attempted to restrain her.

"Wait! NO!" Anna screamed as everyone once again hit the floor at the sight of the gun flailing around during the struggle.

Ethan's eyes followed the direction of the gun and saw that it was pointed directly at Sabrina who was now standing in the isle between the defense and prosecution tables. Without hesitation, he jumped over the barrier and threw himself over her just as the gun went off.

"Put the cuffs on her!" Anna called to the officers as they finally rustled the gun away from Dr. Obrecht's grip.

"Sabrina!" Patrick yelled as he and Sonny damn near knocked each other over trying to get to her. The image of blood made them stop dead in their tracks.

"Get a medic in here!" Dante screamed.

"Sabrina?!" Patrick was in a full panic trying to carefully lift Ethan up.

"There's so much blood." Sonny said.

"It's not mine!" Sabrina yelled. "I'm fine. Ethan? Ethan?!"

"I have a civilian down. Male, mid-twenties, single gunshot wound to the lower back. Send all available units." Dante said into his phone. "Ok, I need everyone out now!" He called ushering all of the spectators into the hall.

"Give me something to stop the bleeding!" Sabrina yelled. "Ethan, can you hear me? It's ok. You're going to be just fine."

"I don't feel so fine at the moment" Ethan managed to say through the pain.

"I know, but I need you to stay with me, ok?" Sabrina replied placing Sonny's coat over the Ethan's wound. "Why did you do that?"

"It was my job…" Ethan smiled before losing consciousness.

"He's over there" Dante directed the EMTs as they rushed over and took Sabrina place at Ethan's side.

"He has a pulse. Let's get him up." The EMT said.

"Are you happy now?" Anna asked walking over to Dr. Obrecht who had her hands handcuffed behind her back. "All this chaos you've created just to delay the inevitable. Your daughter is still going to jail. And you'll be in the cell right next to her."

"If anything happens to me or my daughter, the men I have watching Robin have the order to dispose of her. Now, is that really what you want, Commissioner? To lose your precious Robin all over again?" Dr. Obrecht smirked

Anna exchanged looks with Patrick "Fine. Take her and Dr. Westbourne to the station. Put them in a holding cell. I'm going to Ferncliff to check this story of hers out. And if it's another wild goose chase, I promise you'll regret it." Anna warned.

Patrick looked back at Sabrina who was helping the EMT's with Ethan. "Sabrina, I…"

"It's fine Patrick. Go with Anna. Find out what the hell is going on. I'm going to the hospital with Ethan."

"I'll be right behind you." Sonny added as they began wheeling Ethan's gurney out the courtroom and down the hall.

Before Sabrina could leave, Patrick grabbed her by the hand and gave her an apologetic look.

"I have to go" Sabrina said pulling her hand from his and running out of the room.

"Did you know anything about this?" Patrick turned to face Britt who looked just as shocked as everyone else.

"No. I… I don't know what is going on. I swear, Patrick." She replied.

"Patrick lets go" Anna called halfway out the door. They didn't know what to believe or what to expect, but if there was a chance Robin was out there somewhere. They were determined to bring her home.

* * *

Sabrina paced back and forth in the hallway waiting for the Doctor to come out and tell her something about Ethan's condition.

"You're going to wear a track in the floor." Sonny said. "Maybe you should sit down."

"Sabrina! What the hell happened?!" Felix called running up and pulling her into a hug.

"Ethan... um. He was… Britt... her mother... Robin… I…" Sabrina was incoherent at best.

"Ok you're shaking like a leaf and not making a bit of sense. Here, sit down" Felix said easing her into a chair. "Sonny, care to fill me in?"

Sabrina sat there stone faced as Sonny rehashed the morning's events at the court house. It sounded just as crazy the second time around.

"So Dr. Scorpio-Drake is alive?" Felix asked with confusion in his voice.

"It appears that way, but we don't know. Anna and Patrick went to find out for sure." Sonny responded.

"And Ethan took a bullet for you?" Felix asked Sabrina but didn't get a reply. She was staring at the floor in utter disbelief. So much had happened that she wasn't even sure what the concentrate on first. Her entire world had once again been flipped upside down. If what Britt's mother said was true, Sabrina had just lost everything she worked so hard to get. Her soul mate.

* * *

"Patrick stand back" Anna instructed with her gun drawn outside of the door they were instructed Robin was in. Slowly they opened the door and stepped in. Anna and Patrick both stood in the doorway looking at a dark haired woman with her head turned away from them.

"Robin?" Anna said.

The woman turned her head to face them and smiled. "Hi Mom."

"Oh my god…." Patrick said barely above a whisper.

Anna ran to her daughter and began to loosen the restraints around her hands and feet "Is it really you?" She asked tears streaming down her face.

"It's me. I knew you would find me." She replied wrapping her arms around Anna's neck after her hands were free.

Patrick stayed in the doorway frozen in disbelief as Anna and Robin were reunited. It was as if his feet were encased in cement. His mind kept flashing back to that day in the lab. The worse day of his life. Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing he'd even done, and in the blink of an eye, it was all undone. His wife was in arms reach. He should be running to her to lifting her into his arms. But he couldn't move.

"Patrick…" Robin whispered with tears in her eyes. She held out her hand silently pleading for him to come to her. She had dreamed of this day for over 18 months. She was finally going home to the man that she loved, the daughter that she adored and the life she had built. She kept her arm raised towards Patrick. He in return smiled at the woman he once loved more than life, but he didn't move from his spot in the doorway.


	19. Chapter 19

CH 19

Patrick watched as Robin slept still completely floored that she was actually there. They moved her from Ferncliff back to General Hospital to get her completely checked out after finding her the day before. Anna went back to the station to try and figure out how to handle Britt and her mother. The words 'full pardon' were thrown around at one point but Patrick really didn't care what happened to them. He had enough to deal with and rationalize in his head. He's wife was back from the dead, and he hadn't spoken to his girlfriend in almost 24 hours. It would sound ridiculous had he said it out loud.

"Patrick?" Robin said opening her eyes.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Great, waking up to you" She smiled

Patrick gave Robin a quick smile still uncomfortable about the entire situation. He was beyond happy that she was alive, but there was something in him that didn't feel the way he should have.

"I want to see Emma." Robin stated

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." Patrick replied.

"Patrick, she's my daughter. I've been away from her long enough."

"I understand that Robin, but you have to understand that Emma thinks you're in heaven. And she has thought that for almost 2 years now. Bringing her here now without being able to talk to her first…"

"No, you're right. I don't want to scare her. You should probably talk to her first. Explain what's going on."

"Even if I'm not sure myself?" He whispered.

"Excuse me" Felix said entering Robin's hospital room with a water container. He stopped and looked at Patrick and then back to the woman he had only seen in pictures "Wow, it's true. She really is alive." He said setting the container down.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Robin asked.

"Oh, no. I'm Felix Dubois, a nurse here at GH. And I'm friends with Patrick's…" Felix stopped mid-sentence and exchanged looks with Patrick. "I'm friends with Patrick. Yeah... um ok. Let me to go check on another patient." He said trying to rush out of the room.

"Felix hold on a minute. Robin I'll be right back." He said closing her door behind him. "How's Ethan?" He asked quietly.

"He's fine. Well as fine as he can be. They got the bullet out. Didn't hit any major organs. He should be released in a couple days."

Patrick looked down at his feet "And Sabrina?"

"Sabrina is… doing as well as can be expected. She's been at Ethan's side the whole night."

Patrick flinched at that last statement. Although completely irrational, the thought of the woman he loved holding vigil at another man's bedside sent a pang of jealousy up his spine "Which room?" He asked.

"610. But Patrick…." Before Felix could finish his sentence Patrick turned to begin walking in the direction of Ethan's room. He looked in the open door and saw Sabrina standing up against the windowsill looking out to the street below lost in her thoughts. She looked so beautiful yet so sad.

"Hey" Patrick whispered.

Sabrina turned to see him standing in the doorway, then to Ethan who was fast asleep in his bed. She walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. She stood there against the door for a moment without saying anything. She just studied his face and braced herself for what she was sure to be nail in her fairytale.

"How are you?" Patrick asked

"I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm.. I'm ok."

"And Robin?" Sabrina heard a couple of the nurses whispering about how Robin was quietly transported to the hospital and how Patrick now had a wife and a girlfriend to tend to. It was all comical to them. Sabrina's heartbreak was quickly becoming a punch line around the halls of GH.

"She's fine." Patrick replied avoiding eye contact.

"Did she tell you how all this happened?"

"Um.. She told me what she knew, which really wasn't much. Just that she woke up in Ferncliff after the lab explosion. She started to tell me about the things they did to her, but stopped. Guess she wanted to spare me the image."

"Wow. I'm sorry that happened to her." Sabrina said with genuine concern in her voice.

"Sabrina, listen…" Patrick started to inch closer to her

"Patrick you know what, Ethan is going to be waking up soon and I promised I would be here for him until they track down Luke, so..."

"But we have to talk" Patrick said abruptly.

"No, I have to be here for my friend, and you have to go… to your wife." Sabrina turned and went back into Ethan's room before Patrick could respond. She closed the door and tried to stop the tears from falling. She had been up all night with no one to talk to but herself. In that time she had made a decision. It wasn't easy, but it was the right thing to do. At least that's what she tried to tell herself. She made the decision to give Emma back her family. Sabrina loved Patrick with all her heart, but she loved Emma too. Maybe even more. She saw the look in her eyes when she told Sabrina about the mother daughter bake sale. She saw how sad she would get when Robin's name was mentioned. Sabrina saw herself in Emma. Wanting so desperately to be strong but longing for the mother she lost. Sabrina saw it and recognized it because she was once that little girl. How could she deny Emma the one thing Sabrina herself wished for as a child? Sabrina was once ready to give her life to save Emma's. Now she would trade in her happiness for that of the little girl she had come to love as her own. She pulled out her cell and sent a text to Felix: _I need your help. Meet me at the house asap._

Patrick reluctantly turned and walked back down the hall and into Robin's room where he found her and Elizabeth reuniting.

"Oh there you are" Robin said happy to see her husband again. "Where did you go?"

"I uh… went to go check on another patient." He replied exchanging looks with Elizabeth.

"So I'm going to let the two of you talk but I will be back, you hear me?" Elizabeth smiled giving Robin another hug.

"I look forward to catching up some more." Robin replied

"Me too" Elizabeth said turning to leave the room. As she walked past Patrick, she gently touched his arm and gave him a rather somber look. One that did not escape Robin's eye. "I'll see you guys later" She said as she left the room.

Patrick stood awkwardly by the door not knowing exactly what to do next. He felt like a fish out of water. Nothing made sense. Here he was back with his first love and all he could think about was the cold shoulder he had just received from his current one. His head was pounding from exhaustion and confusion.

"So" Robin said breaking him out of his thoughts "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" He asked

"Patrick, I saw that look you between you and Elizabeth. And that look with that other nurse earlier. I know coming back from the dead is a bit of a shock for people, but I can't help feeling something else is going on."

"Something else like what?" Patrick asked diverting his eyes.

"Well for starters, my husband hasn't so much as held my hand let alone kissed me since he found me. We can start there."

"I'm sorry, I just… this is all really confusing for me, Robin."

"I get that. But… are you sure there isn't something else going on?"

Patrick finally looked at Robin and realized that hearing the details of the last year and a half of his and Emma's life would be best coming from him and not some gossiping candy striper. He ran his hands through his hair and took a seat in the chair next to Robin's bed. For the next two hours, Patrick poured out his heart. He told Robin every single last detail about him and Sabrina. He told her about the place he was in after she 'died' and how Lulu and Maxie helped him through it, but then how Sabrina made him whole again. He told Robin about how it was her own words on that DVD that allowed him to give his heart to Sabrina. He told her about how much Emma loved her, how accepting Robin's family was of their union. Although he didn't want to, he even told Robin about everything Britt Westbourne and their baby that wasn't. About how Sabrina saved Emma's life without any regard to her own when Britt's crazy mother tried to do away with them. He even attempted to tell her about Sonny being Sabrina's father but that he would leave that back from the dead story for another time. He also stopped short of telling Robin that Sabrina was now living in their home in fear that it would upset her too much. He filled her in on the events at the courthouse the previous day and that when he left her room earlier it was to check on Sabrina more so than Ethan. By the time he had finished, he felt like a 3 ton beam had been lifting off his shoulders. He looked at Robin who had remained silent the entire time with no real expression on her face.

"Say something, Robin" He pleaded.

"I'm not sure what to say exactly." Robin whispered looking down at his ring less left hand. She knew there was a strong likelihood Patrick would move on in her absence, but that didn't make it hurt any less. The woman who Patrick was describing sounded exactly like who she described in her DVD. She sounded exactly like the person she wanted to be in Patrick and Emma's life. So why did she feel so betrayed?

"I know this is a lot to deal with. I'm sorry…" Patrick began

"Patrick, it's alright. Stop apologizing. I knew this was a possibility. Hell, I even expected it. Sabrina sounds like… a wonderful woman. What she did for Emma, I don't even know what to say. I would like to meet her if that's ok."

"I… don't think that's a good idea right now. You're still recovering. We haven't even gotten your labs back yet. You've gone almost two years without the right meds.."

"I'm fine, Patrick. I just want to thank her for taking such good care of my family while I was gone."

"Yeah well… she's not even talking to me at the moment, so…" Patrick was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"How's my girl?" Anna said entering the room.

"Hey Mom. I'm ok."

"Where's Emma?" Patrick asked.

"I had Duke take her to the aquarium. She was getting a little antsy. She doesn't understand why she hasn't seen you or…" Anna stopped and looked at Robin.

"It's alright, Mom. Patrick told me about Sabrina."

"Oh. Ok, well… Ethan?" Anna asked Patrick trying to change the subject.

"He's going to be fine as well. What's going on with Britt and her mother?" Patrick replied.

"You know what, we'll get into all of that later. Right now, I want to spend some time with my daughter and you need to go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, I think you're right" Patrick said standing up from his chair and walking towards the door. "I'll be back in a little while. If there's anything you need, call me."

"Will do." Anna said as Patrick left the room.

"Wow. He couldn't get out of here fast enough, huh?" Robin said looking down at her hands.

On his way out, Patrick decided to try to talk to Sabrina again. He had to make her listen to him. He had to tell her how he was feeling even if he wasn't entirely sure himself. He stopped by Ethan's room and looked into the window. He saw Ethan there, awake talking to Luke, but didn't see Sabrina. He figured she must have left to give father and son time to talk. Patrick thought of where she would go next. He picked up his phone and tried her number. No answer. He then tried Felix's number. Again, no answer. "Dammit, Sabrina" He said to himself as he walked towards the elevator to leave.

Patrick arrived home 20 minutes later hoping to see Sabrina's car in the driveway but didn't. He walked in door and dropped his keys on the console table. He took a few steps into the living room and felt something was off. He looked around and noticed things that no one else would. Certain objects were absent. Little items disappeared. He searched around with his eyes and noticed that pictures and books were missing from the shelves. A blanket with a Puerto Rican flag on it that was always hanging across the back of the couch had vanished. In a panic, Patrick ran through the house to the bedroom and opened the closets and the drawers. He went into the bathroom and saw the bare countertops and leaned against the door frame trying to catch his breath. After a few minutes Patrick staggered back into the bedroom, collapsed on the bed and buried his head in his hands to catch the tears. His corazón was gone. Her scent, her possessions, her essence had all vanished. Every single trace of Sabrina Santiago ever being there had been erased.


	20. Chapter 20

CH 20

"Are you sure you're ok?" Anna asked taking a seat next to her daughter's bed.

"I really wish everyone would stop asking me that. I'm fine." Robin replied.

"I didn't mean physically, Robin. What all did Patrick tell you?"

Robin sighed thinking back over everything her and Patrick had discussed earlier. How he had basically replaced her in his heart. Of course, he didn't use those words, but the look in his eyes as he was speaking of her couldn't be denied. And Patrick didn't bother trying. "Everything, I guess. So is she really as perfect as she sounds." She looked up to her mother with pain in her eyes.

"Oh Robin… I… I don't know how to answer that." Anna said taking her hand. "Listen, it took a long time for Patrick to even want to move on. And even longer for him and Sabrina to find their way to each other."

"Do you like her?" Robin asked.

Anna paused thinking of a way not to hurt Robin any further "Sabrina is a lovely woman. What she did to save Emma, I will never be able to repay her for that. Yes, I have become fond of her over the last year. She's made Patrick and Emma really happy. I'm sorry if that's hard to hear."

"No, it's…. well, yeah it is hard to hear but I get it" She said wiping tears from her eyes. "Doesn't matter now anyway."

"Why do you say that?

"Because I'm home now, Mom. I have been away from my family far too long. I'm not going to miss another moment with my daughter or my husband for that matter. It may take some time, but my family will be put back together. I'll make sure of that."

"Robin, I don't think…."

"You don't think what?" Robin interrupted. "You don't think Patrick would choose me over her? He loves me Mom, I know he does."

"I'm not disputing that. What I was going to say is I don't think it will be as easy as you think. There are a lot of factors here, Robin. They've been through things together that would have broken up a weaker couple. She has been a foundation for Patrick when he felt his earth slipping away. It's not something you can just forget overnight."

"I don't care!" Robin shouted. "This is my family. MINE! And I will get them back. No matter what it takes."

* * *

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this" Felix said dragging suitcases into the apartment he was once again sharing with Sabrina.

"Felix, please…" Sabrina pleaded

"Felix, please my ass Sabrina. This is all wrong and you know it." He snapped

"What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"Fight! You were supposed to fight. You love that man and little girl more than anything. How could you just walk away like that? With no warning or goodbye."

"Because it was the right thing to do." Sabrina replied walking over to the window.

"For whom? Sabrina, did you ever stop to think about how you're doing what you THINK is best for Emma is going to end up hurting her? How do you think she's going to feel when she gets home and you're not there?"

Sabrina stared out of the rain soaked window. The drops pouring down the glass matched the ones now streaming down her face. She didn't want to leave Patrick or Emma or their home. But in her mind she had no choice. It wasn't her home. And Patrick and Emma weren't her family. They belonged to Robin. They belonged with Robin.

"See, you're standing there ignoring me because you know you're wrong. I can't believe this" Felix said moving boxes around to make a path "After everything the two of you have been through. Hell, after everything I'VE been through. Running around town like a manic trying to expose the Britch and the dragon that hatched her, all so my best friend could find love and be happy. And how do you repay me? By taking up space in my bathroom again. This is ridiculous. I should charge your ass double in rent, you know that? Are you even listening to me?"

Felix continued on for a good ten minutes while Sabrina just stood there staring off into space. She felt like she was beginning to lose all of her senses one by one. She couldn't hear a word he was saying over the white noise in her head. She wanted to tell him that she didn't have any fight left in her because that would be the real truth. From the moment she laid eyes on Patrick Drake, Sabrina's life had been one rollercoaster ride after another. One with amazing highs and equally devastating lows. While she would maintain out loud that she was doing what was best for Patrick and Emma, to herself she acknowledged that she was just plain tired. She was tired of fighting all of the outside forces that seemed to want them apart. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. They had been fighting battles since the second Patrick kissed her at the Nurses Ball. And Robin coming back had just ignited a war that Sabrina was not ready for nor equipped to fight. She was emotionally outnumbered.

"Yeah, you've lost your ever loving mind if you think I'm just going to sit by and let you ruin…"

"Felix stop" Sabrina whispered breaking out of her trance and into Felix's rant. She turned to face her best friend with a look that made Felix's heart sink "I just… can't."

Felix ran over to Sabrina and caught her as her legs gave out beneath her and she crumbled to the floor. She buried her head in his arms and broke down in a way she never had before. Everything she ever wanted was gone. All of her hopes and dreams for a future with the love of her life vanished. The pain she was feeling at that moment was like nothing she had ever experienced in her life. It wasn't just emotional, it was physical. Every single bone in her body ached. She felt like she literally couldn't even get air. Sabrina cried in Felix's arms until she couldn't cry anymore. Until she physically could no longer make tears and he eyes began to swell. After what felt like hours, Felix was finally able to peel Sabrina off the floor and onto the couch.

"Listen to me," He said trying to dry her face "I may not agree with this, girl, but you're my best friend in the world and I will support and love you no matter what, ok? We'll get through this together. I promise."

"Thanks Felix. I just need to lay down." Her voice cracked.

"You must be exhausted. Go get some rest. I'm going to go to Kelly's and get something in case you feel like eating when you wake up."

"Ok" Sabrina replied as she walked to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed.

Felix grabbed his keys and phone and noticed he had 8 missed calls and 5 voicemail from Patrick. He clearly had been home and seen the ransack job Sabrina forced him to help her with. He loved Sabrina, but nothing about this felt right to Felix. Not the stealth move they pulled on the Drake residence and damn sure not the end to the relationship Felix was secretly living vicariously through. Against his better judgment, Felix dialed Patrick who picked up on the first ring.

"Felix, thank god! Where is she? Is she ok? " Patrick sounded frantic.

"Meet at Kelly's in 20 minutes" Was all Felix said before hanging up the phone. He was more than willing to except Sabrina's decision but not before hearing Patrick's side first.

Twenty minutes later, Felix walked into Kelly's to find Patrick pacing back and forth by the counter. He must have run every stop light to beat him there since Felix's apartment was closer in proximity.

"Where is she?" Patrick asked skipping the pleasantries.

"She's at the apartment" Felix replied walking over to a table in the corner for privacy.

Patrick followed and sat down. "Why did she do that? Why did she just leave like that?"

"Patrick, I'm not here to talk about why she's doing what she's doing. You're going to have to speak with her about that. I'm here simply to ask you what it is you want."

"What do you mean?" Patrick asked confused.

"Well, you have a girlfriend who loves you, and a wife who loves you. So, who do you want?"

Patrick looked around aimlessly "I… I can't answer that."

"Well, then there's nothing else to say here" Felix went to stand up from the table

"Felix wait a minute. I'm not the bad guy here. My wife has been back from the dead all of two days and you're asking me to choose? It's not that easy."

"Yes, Dr. Drake. That's exactly what I'm asking you to do."

"I… I can't do that" He whispered.

"Well then I can't help you" Felix turned and walk out of Kelly's leaving Patrick with his conflictions. It was a completely unreasonable request. How could Patrick choose? Especially with Sabrina not even talking to him. The way she left like that hurt him deeper than he ever thought possible. He had no idea how he was going to explain any of this to Emma. He wasn't even should how to explain it to himself yet. In a matter of days Patrick's life had gone from dream to nightmare.

* * *

Patrick arrived back at Robin's hospital room an hour later looking worse than when he had left.

"I thought you went to get some rest" Robin said sitting up in her bed.

"I um… I tried. I uh…" Patrick stayed by the door and fumbled around with his hands trying to form words.

"Well did you talk to Emma?"

"No. She's going to stay with Anna and Duke tonight. I didn't want her to come home and see…" Patrick's voice trailed off.

"And see what?" Robin asked.

Patrick walked over to his wife's hospital bed, pulled her hand into his and broke down. He collapsed into the chair and buckled over so that his tears were soaking the blanket that lay on top. He cried because there was nothing else he could do. This was the only thing he felt that he could control. Everything else around him was being done without his ok or his consent or his opinion. He never asked for any of this. He never asked for his wife to be taken from him. He never asked to lose his support system in his brother Matt. He never asked to fall in love again. And he damn sure never asked to have it ripped away from him. He felt like his life was happening around him and he had no say in any of it.

"It's ok sweetie. I'm home now. We're going to be a family again. I promise." Robin said stroking Patrick's hair as he cried. This was the emotional response she had been waiting for. The response of a man so relieved to see the woman he loved again that he couldn't contain his feelings. Robin began thinking that maybe getting her family back wouldn't be nearly as difficulty as Anna made it seem. She and Patrick had a bond stronger than anything else and him being so openly vulnerable with her in that moment proved that in her eyes.

The only thing Patrick could feel was pain. Hurt was setting into his veins and he didn't know what else to do but cry. Cry for everything that was and everything that would never be again. He thought again to the request Felix had made earlier and his choice became clear. He knew exactly where he wanted to be and exactly who he wanted to be with. Robin continued to comfort Patrick thinking his tears were for the love he had just regained, not knowing they were really for the love he had just lost.


	21. Chapter 21

CH 21

"You're awfully quiet" Ethan said sitting on the edge of his hospital bed.

Sabrina turned away from the window and gave him a half hearted smile "I'm sorry. A lot on my mind I suppose."

"Patrick?" He asked to which Sabrina simply nodded her head yes. "Yeah, I saw Robin earlier. Still can't believe she's alive."

"You and me both" Sabrina responded sinking back into the chair by his bed. Sabrina hadn't seen or talked to Patrick since 2 days prior when he saw came to find her in Ethan's room. In that time he must have left her no less than 20 voicemails. Every time her phone vibrated she felt her heart break a little more. She listened to the first few seconds of one message before mass deleting the rest. Just his voice alone sent her back into an emotional tailspin.

"Well I'm sure you and Patrick will be able to work it out" Ethan said.

"There is no me and Patrick any longer. But thank you for the support." Sabrina said looking away.

Ethan paused seeing the look of pain on her face. He had never seen those beautiful eyes look so hurt. It crushed him in a way he didn't think possible "Sabrina… I'm sorry. I…"

"It's fine." She interrupted trying to change the subject. "Are you sure you have everything? Epiphany said your discharge paper work was all done."

"Yeah. I'm so ready to get out of here too. This bed is like nails and the food was a little on the dreadful side." He laughed.

"Thank you by the way" Sabrina said placing her hand on his.

"For what?" He asked frozen by her touch.

"Ethan, you jumped in front of a bullet for me. You saved my life. I still can't believe you did that."

"I did what I had to do." He smiled

"Because Sonny paid you to?" Sabrina lightly chuckled.

Ethan hesitated and looked down at their hands trying to find the right response. Yes, Sonny paid him to protect Sabrina, but the truth was he probably would have jumped in front of that bullet for her regardless. This was absolutely the wrong time to tell Sabrina how he felt about her, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hide it. And according to Sonny, he wasn't hiding it very well to begin with. "Honestly Sabrina, I…"

"So, you ready to go?" Sonny asked from the door interrupting Ethan before he could finish.

"Yep. All ready" Ethan replied quickly pulling his hands away from Sabrina's. He stood up from the bed and grabbed the duffle bag from the floor relieved by his timing.

"Good, the car is downstairs waiting to take you back to the house. The staff will get you all situated." Sonny said

"Wait, Ethan is going to your house?" Sabrina asked puzzled.

"Yeah well, he couldn't go back to Luke's tiny suite at the Metro Court. Especially with him not really being there often. So I figured I have more rooms than necessary. Plus he saved my daughter's life. I kind of owe him" Sonny winked.

"Wow. That's really nice of you. I appreciate it" Sabrina said.

"Oh its nothing. This is a good guy here" Sonny said patting Ethan on the back. "Let's get you out of here." Sonny took Ethan's duffle bag as they made their way out of the hospital room.

"Damn, I think I left my cell phone in there." Ethan said once they had reached the elevator.

"It's ok, you guys go ahead. I'll go get the phone and drop it off later." Sabrina offered.

Sabrina went back into the room and began looking for the phone but couldn't find it. She looked on the tables, the window sill and on the bed before finally finding it wrapped up in the blankets. As she picked up the phone, her thumb must have accidently hit the power button, because the screen illuminated. Sabrina looked down at Ethan's phone to see a picture of herself staring back. Sabrina studied the picture and realized it was taken just last week during some random errand run that Ethan followed her on. He must have taken it when she wasn't paying attention, but why? It must have been some sort of surveillance thing, but why was the picture open on his phone? Sabrina figured he must have recently been looking at it but was unclear as the reason. Sabrina quickly turned off the phone realizing that she was clearly invading Ethan's privacy. It was probably nothing anyway. She turned to leave the room but was stopped dead in her tracks by Patrick and Robin standing in the doorway.

* * *

Ethan and Sonny arrived at the Corinthos residence a half hour later. Ethan slowly eased his way on to the sofa as Max brought in the rest of his bags.

"This is really nice of you Sonny." Ethan said.

"What can I say, I'm a nice guy." Sonny grinned.

"Yeah ok, what is this really about?" Ethan asked not fooled one bit by Sonny's grand gesture.

"I told you, you saved my kids life. This is the least I can do. And ya know, Sabrina comes over here from time to time. And now that your bodyguard duties have been fulfilled, I don't want you two to fall out of touch."

"Ah, there it is." Ethan sighed "Sonny, when are you going to let this go? Sabrina loves Patrick…"

"That's done! Ok. The first chance he got, he left her. Just like I knew he would. Don't get me wrong, I understand it. But while he's being reunited with his wife, my daughter's heart is in a million pieces. I see no reason why you can't be the one to put it back together."

"I can't do that" Ethan whispered.

"Why not? You care about her don't you?"

"You know I do" He confessed "But I can't be the one who picks her up, Sonny. That would make me a rebound at best. It's entirely too soon."

"Hey, I'm not saying to pursue her right this second. Just be there for her. As a friend and someone she can lean on and trust. Everything else will happen naturally."

"And if Patrick wants her back?"

Sonny chuckled and walked over to the patio doors reflecting on a conversation he had with Robin the previous day. He stopped by to see her with his own eyes and still couldn't believe it. She was really alive. They spent an hour or so casually catching up on things until the conversation turned to Sabrina. Sonny wasn't sure how it was going to go until he realized that he and Robin had a mutual understanding where Patrick and Sabrina's relationship was concerned. There wasn't to be one. "Don't worry about that." Sonny said looking out onto the terrace "It's being handled."

* * *

"Oh, I'm sorry. We were looking for Ethan. Has he been discharged already?" Robin said unaware she was face to face with the woman her husband was in love with.

"Um… yeah. You just missed him" Sabrina replied barely above a whisper.

Robin looked at Patrick and took note of the expression on his face. It was one of shock yet relief. She looked back at the woman in front of her and noticed she was avoiding eye contact with her and suddenly knew exactly who she was. "You must be Sabrina." She said.

Sabrina finally met Robin's eyes with hers a little taken aback that she knew who she was "Yes. It's… it's very nice to meet you Dr. Scorpio-Drake."

"It's ok. You don't have to be so formal with me. You can call me Robin" she replied studying Sabrina from head to toe. Robin knew based on Patrick's track record that any woman he was involved with must have been beautiful, but Sabrina was far beyond that. She was stunning. Robin quickly felt jealousy setting in.

"Well, Robin. It's nice to meet you. I know you're happy to be home with your family. Emma must be ecstatic." Sabrina said trying to sound upbeat.

"Yeah, I think so. I haven't seen her yet actually" Robin replied.

Sabrina looked confused "You haven't?"

"I only just told her last night" Patrick said finally breaking his awkward silence "We wanted to wait until we got Robin's labs back. To make sure Robin was really ok after her ordeal."

"Yep, and just like I thought, I'm completely fine" Robin smiled at her husband who's eyes were still fixated on Sabrina.

"Well that's great to hear. I'm really happy for you… both" Sabrina said quickly glancing to Patrick "I should go. I just came to get Ethan's cell" Sabrina said walking to the door.

"Wait" Robin said lightly grabbing Sabrina's arm "I just want to say thank you. Patrick and my mom filled me in on everything you did for my family. I will never be able to express my gratitude enough. I truly mean that" Robin pulled Sabrina into a hug and completely caught her off guard.

"I uh… It was no problem" Sabrina said looking at Patrick.

"Knock knock" Anna said entering the room "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to get out of here." Robin said turning to leave "Patrick, are you coming?"

"Actually, I'll meet you there once I pick up Emma" Patrick replied. Robin exchanged looks with both Patrick and Sabrina before reluctantly leaving with Anna. Once Patrick saw them get on the elevator he slammed the hospital room door and blocked Sabrina from leaving.

"Patrick, move" Sabrina demanded.

"No. I'm not moving until you talk to me. Why haven't you called me back?"

"There was no reason to"

"Really, Sabrina? I mean that little to you now?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Well then tell me."

"Patrick I don't want to do this with you right now. Shouldn't you be getting home to your wife and child?"

"First of all, Robin isn't coming home yet. She's staying with Anna and Duke so that we can ease Emma in to this. Do you have any idea how confused she is?"

Sabrina looked away "Is she ok?"

"No she's not ok! Yes, she was excited to hear about Robin but that excitement quickly turned to sadness when she realized you were gone. Why Sabrina…?" Patrick began to tear up "Why did you do that to me?"

"It was for the best…" She whispered

"Stop saying that! It wasn't what was best for Emma and damn sure not for me. Do you have any idea what that did to me? Seeing your entire presence just gone like that? The blanket that you keep on the sofa for movie night. Your favorite mug. Those stupid little hair clips that I always find in the strangest places. All just gone! How…" Patrick couldn't even finish. He lowered his head to let his tears fall to the floor. "You just vanished."

Sabrina turned around and put her hand over her mouth to muffle her cries. Seeing him in this kind of pain broke her heart all over again "I'm sorry, Patrick. I just didn't know what else to do."

Patrick rushed over and spun Sabrina around to face him "We love each other, Sabrina. We can't just turn that off. If we just talk, maybe…"

"Maybe what, Patrick" she asked pulling away "Maybe we can ignore that your wife is alive and go back to the way things were? It doesn't work like that! I don't deserve that! I don't deserve to always be second with you!" She yelled "I'm tired, ok? I'm tired of having to fight for you! I want someone who will fight for me for a change!"

"What does it look like I'm doing right now?!" Patrick yelled back. Neither seemed to care about who may hear them.

"I think you're trying to have it both ways. That's what I think."

"That's a damn lie and you know it Sabrina. You're running away. You're running away from me and your running away from Emma."

"That's not fair."

"No it's not fair. Nothing about this is fair. I'm in love with you, Sabrina. You can't ask me to just stop. That's like asking me to stop breathing. I can't do that. I won't."

Sabrina wiped her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair "If you love me Patrick, then let me go." She said sternly.

Patrick stepped back and looked at her as if she had just driven a stake through his heart "Let you go? Wha… no. I… I can't do that" He replied shaking his head.

"You have to. For your family" Sabrina pleaded with tears flowing down her face "And if not for them then for me. It hurts too much, can't you see that? I don't want to hurt like this over you anymore."

Patrick looked at Sabrina and saw she was holding herself upright with the railing of the hospital bed. How could he bring some much pain to someone he loved so much? "So that's it? Just like that. We're just… done?"

"We have to be" She whispered.

Patrick looked around the room in search of something to throw. A wall to punch. Anything to get out his anger. Sabrina had never made him this mad. She was being stubborn and irrational…. and selfless. He hated every part of this but it was what she wanted. He had to let her go. Patrick turned around and opened the door to leave but stopped "Felix asked me. He was all over me to be honest. He asked me what I wanted. WHO I wanted. Where I wanted to be. I didn't respond to him then but just so you know, the answer was you. The answer will always be you, Sabrina." Patrick never turned to face her. He walked out on her, their time together and the hopes of them ever having a future again. Patrick left the room and closed the door on the love of his life.


	22. Chapter 22

CH 22

"Sabrina? Girl, get up." Felix said shaking her by the shoulders.

Sabrina sprang up from the bench she was laying on and began looking around the locker room to remember where she was. "Felix? Oh, I must have fallen asleep" She said rubbing her eyes.

"Obviously. Girl, this night shift is killing you. I don't know how you're doing it." Felix replied opening his locker.

"Didn't really have a lot of other choices" Sabrina said trying to get her bearings. It had been a few weeks since her breakup with Patrick and she was still doing all she could to avoid him completely. Including volunteering for the shift that all other nurses avoided like the plague. It was the best way not to run into Patrick or Robin who had recently come back to work. Unfortunately in avoiding Patrick, she also hadn't seen Emma either. It broke Sabrina's heart just thinking about how confused she must be, but she kept telling herself how much better off Emma was with her mother. And Sabrina was doing all she could not to think about it by keeping herself busy. She spend her nights in the ER and her days either sleeping or at Sonny's house. Not only had she become closer with her recently found father, she was also developing a close friendship with Ethan who was still living with him. It was a friendship that she was quickly beginning to rely on. Ethan made Sabrina laugh when all she wanted to do was cry.

"It's crazy" Felix said shutting his locker "I live with you and this is probably the first time I've seen you in days."

"Wait a minute. What time is it?" Sabrina asked.

"It's a little before 9. Well past the end of your shift by the way."

"Oh my god. I have to get out of here" Sabrina gathered her belongings in a hurry knowing that Patrick's shift was going to start soon. She wasn't in any mood for that awkward confrontation. "I'll see you later, Fe" She called back already out of the locker room door. Sabrina fumbled around with her cellphone as she walked through the halls and saw that she had a missed text message from Ethan. She clicked on the notification to read it but before she could she heard a tiny voice call out to her.

"Sabrina!" She looked up towards the elevator and saw Emma running towards her full speed. When Emma reached Sabrina she threw her arms around her legs with a force that almost knocked her over.

"Emma… Uh… Hi sweetie." Sabrina said patting the top of her head. She looked back towards the elevator to see Patrick, Robin and Anna slowly walking in her direction as well.

"Hello, Sabrina." Anna said once they reached her.

"Hello, Commissioner" She replied. She exchanged glances with Patrick and Robin before looking down at Emma who was still clinging on to her legs.

"Where have you been?" Emma asked looking up Sabrina with sadness in her eyes.

"I um… " Sabrina was looking for the words to try to explain to Emma what she couldn't even explain to herself.

"Remember" Patrick interrupted "We talked about this. About how me, you and your mom are going to spend more time together now that she's home. As a family."

Emma looked over to Patrick and then back to Sabrina "But you're my family too, right? You promised."

"Oh Ems" Sabrina kneeled down so that she was eye level with Emma and took her hands "I know this is really confusing for you. And I know I haven't been around lately and I'm really sorry about that. That wasn't fair to you. I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you. Can you come home now?" Emma said with tears in her eyes.

Sabrina again looked up at Patrick who was fighting tears of his own. He wanted to beg her to come home too. He wanted to tell her how empty their house was without her. How empty his bed was. He wanted to tell her that she was the missing part to their family, but he couldn't.

"Emma…" Sabrina began.

"Mija!" Emma interrupted.

Sabrina looked down at their hands and took a deep breath "Emma…"

"No! Mija! You call me Mija!" She cried.

Sabrina stood up and turned away to hide her anguish.

"Emma come here" Patrick said bending down to her level "I know you're sad that Sabrina isn't around anymore, but this is something I need you to be a big girl about ok? Sabrina isn't going anywhere. Maybe we can schedule some time for the two of you to hang out. If that's ok…?" He looked to Sabrina who had finally turned back to face them.

"Yeah, that would be great" She said trying to sound upbeat.

"Would you like that?" Patrick asked Emma.

Emma crossed her arms in front of her and put her head down but didn't respond. She wasn't as confused as all the adults around her thought she was. She understood exactly what was going on. They were swapping out one mother for the other. And no one was bothering to ask her how she felt about any of it.

"Ok, I think I'm going to drop her off in daycare. Come on Emma." Anna said taking her hand as they headed towards the elevator.

"Sabrina… I'm sorry about that" Patrick said.

"No, its fine. She's just a kid. I don't expect her to understand adult problems." She replied wiping tears from her eyes.

"She loves you a lot" Robin whispered. It was the first time she had spoken since they arrived at the hospital. She wasn't sure what to say exactly. The past few weeks hadn't gone the way she hoped they would. Patrick was still stalling about having her move back into the house and Emma wasn't exactly taking her return as well as she hoped she would. Seeing the love in her husband's eyes every time he looked at Sabrina was one thing. Seeing the same look on her daughters face was enough to crush Robin's soul. And now she was finding out of the first time that Sabrina was actually living with them in her house. A fact that Patrick was conveniently keeping from her.

"I love her too" Sabrina said watching Emma and Anna wait for the elevator.

As if Emma could feel Sabrina looking at her, she turned her head and they locked eyes. She pulled her hand away from Anna and took a few steps back in Sabrina's direction. "Sabrina?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"To the stars and back?" She asked.

Sabrina tilted her head back to try and stop the tears "Oh, Mija. To the stars and back." She replied falling to her knees

Without warning Emma bolted into Sabrina's awaiting arms and threw her arms around her neck. She was her family. She was her home. She was the only mother she could remember.

Sabrina tried her best not to let her emotions take over her but was losing. She wrapped her arms around Emma as tight as she could without hurting her. "Listen to me ok" She said when they finally pulled apart. "You be a good girl for your mommy and daddy ok?" To which Emma simply nodded her head. "That's my girl. Go ahead with Grandma Anna now. I'll see you later. I promise."

Emma smiled knowing that Sabrina never breaks her promises and walked over to Anna. She turned back to Sabrina and gave a quick wave before boarding the elevator. The second the doors closed, Sabrina broke down in tears. She turned to hold herself up with the edge of the counter at the nurses' station. Saying goodbye to that little girl was the single hardest thing she'd ever done in her life. Harder than even saying goodbye to Patrick. Nothing hurt like this.

"Sabrina…" Patrick said placing his hand on her shoulder. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms.

"I'm fine. Please don't…" She said recoiling away from his touch.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Patrick's voice trailed off before he could say what he really wanted to say. That he wanted to take her pain away regardless of the fact that it was somewhat self-inflicted.

Sabrina turned back around once she had regained her composure and saw Ethan coming off the elevator.

Ethan began to slowly approach Sabrina, Patrick and Robin and could tell something wasn't right. "Hey… you ok?" He asked Sabrina.

She looked at him for a moment and a feeling of relief came over her. She had never been so happy to see him in the few months they had known each other. Without responding to his question, she simply walked into his arms. She held on tighter than she probably should have and buried her head in his chest.

Ethan slightly taken aback returned the gesture and began to rub Sabrina's back in support. "Hey, it's ok." He whispered and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He looked over at Patrick as he watched them with a look on his face that was a combination of hurt and pure rage. It was a look that Robin noticed as well.

"I'm sorry" Sabrina said pulling away from Ethan's arms. "I didn't mean to ambush you like that."

"It's ok" He replied wiping away a stray tear from her cheek. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Sabrina looked over to Patrick and Robin then back to Ethan "Not really. What are you doing here anyway? Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just had to get my stitches out. I texted you earlier, you didn't get it?"

"Yeah, I did but I didn't get a chance to read it Things got a little… complicated." She said lowering her head.

"You know what you need?" Ethan asked taking her hands into his.

"No, what?"

"Sleep!" He laughed. "Would you mind if I drive you home? I don't want you on the road like this."

"Yeah, your right. I would appreciate that." She smiled as they walked towards the elevator.

Robin followed Patrick's eyes as he watched them disappear behind the closing doors. "Patrick?" She said lightly touching his arm.

"I have patients." He said abruptly. He turned and walked away leaving Robin alone by the nurses' station. He was hoping to get away before Robin could see the looking of seething jealousy on his face, but failed.

* * *

Ethan opened the door for Sabrina as they arrived back at her apartment 20 minutes later. She walked in and threw her keys on coffee table and sank onto the sofa.

"Whatever I walked in on at the hospital, it was that bad huh?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah it was. You had just missed Emma."

"Oh. That must have been tough."

"Clearly" she chuckled "I'm a bit of a hot mess as Felix would put it."

"Well it probably doesn't help that you've been up for almost 24 hours. You really should get some rest. I'll call you later." He said turning to leave.

"Ethan, wait." She replied. "Can you just… can you stay with me for a while? Just until I fall asleep?"

Ethan turned back and saw the agony in her face that he wanted to so badly to remove. He would do anything she asked him to do. "Sure" He smiled. He walked back over to the couch and sat down next to her. Sabrina removed her shoes and laid down in his arms using his chest as a pillow. Ethan stretched out and wrapped his arms around her body. He gently stroked the hair away from her face and allowed his mind to wander off. He envisioned that she was his .That she was in his arms because she wanted him, not because she was in pain over another man. He imagined he could be the man to make her happy again if she would only let him. He fantasized about the life that they could share together if she would just consider the possibility. Ethan would never hurt her. Never chose anyone else over her. Never take her for granted. He would love and protect her with his life just as he had done that day at the court house.

"Thank you" Sabrina whispered as if she were reading his mind.

"Anytime" He replied breathing in the scent of her hair.

Sabrina shifted a little before finally falling asleep to the sound of Ethan's heartbeat. After a few minutes, he thought about leaving but he couldn't. He didn't want to let her go. There was no place he'd rather be at that moment. He fell back into his fantasies of them as she lay sleeping in his arms. He spent the next few hours doing nothing other than listening to her breathe.


	23. Chapter 23

CH 23

"Can you hand me the torque wrench?" Ethan said from underneath the kitchen sink.

"Um... sure. Which one is that?" Sabrina asked looking around at the foreign objects most people called tools.

Ethan laughed "The silver one with the red handle."

"Oh, got it" She said handing it to him. "Thanks for this by the way. With our landlord out of town and Felix being the complete opposite of handy, this broken pipe would have certainly flooded this place."

"It's no problem." Ethan slid out from the sink "That's should do it. Turn on the faucets."

Sabrina did as he asked "Wow, you're good."

"I know" He smirked "This should hold until you landlord is able to replace the entire thing."

"Thanks so much, Ethan" Sabrina said as they walked back into the living room.

"Sabrina, you have got to stop thanking me."

"I'm sorry, I just feel like I've been asking a lot of you lately."

"Well, that's what friends are for right?" He smiled.

Sabrina returned Ethan's smile and nodded her head. He was her friend.

"Girl!" Felix exclaimed as he entered the apartment. He went over to Sabrina and picked her up and began twirling her around in the air.

"Felix!" She laughed after he finally set her down. "What on earth has gotten into you?"

"You won't believe what happened to me today.. Oh. Hi Ethan. You're here… again." Felix said raising an eyebrow.

"Hi, Felix." Ethan replied.

"So what happened that was so great?" Sabrina asked.

"Well… I have a date tonight." He smiled.

"Really? With….? Wait… Dr. Jones?"

"The one and only!" Felix could barely contain his excitement.

"Wow. That's great Felix. I'm sure you'll have fun."

"We will... If you're there."

"I'm sorry, what?" Sabrina said with confusion on her face.

"Well the good Doc was a bit wary of my advances. The only way I could get him to agree to come out with me tonight was by telling him it was kind of a group thing. So that it'll be a little less awkward."

"And you don't think things will be awkward if you show up with your best friend as a third wheel?"

"Yes, it would be. Which is why I was hoping you would double with us. Please?" Felix pleaded.

"Double with who? In case you've forgotten, I'm a single now." Sabrina replied.

"Well…" Felix looked over at Ethan and smiled.

"No" Sabrina said following his eyes "I'm sure Ethan has more important things to do than to chaperone a bunch of adults."

"Really? Cuz he did it for you for a month."

"He's got a point" Ethan laughed

"Whatever. I'm sure you have something else you'd rather be doing…"

"Actually, no I don't. It sounds like fun. I would love to join you guys."

"Awesome, now get out of here and go get cleaned up before she can object." Felix replied ushering Ethan to the door. "Meet us at the Floating Rib at 9." Felix closed the door behind him before Ethan could respond.

"Really, Felix?" Sabrina said with her arms crossed

"What? You own me, heffa. Don't forget how much work I put into getting you together with he who shall not be named."

"Yeah and look how that ended."

"Oh that was your doing honey. Let the record show that I jumped through hoops for you just to have you throw it all away."

"Felix…" Sabrina began

"I know I know. We won't get into that again. I'm just asking you to return the favor."

Sabrina sighed "Fine. You're right."

"Do you know how much time we would save if you would just keep that in your head as a given? And besides, you need to get out of the house. And it's not like you're not getting anything out of the deal. You get to go out with the hot Aussie who's been crushing on you for months."

"What? Ethan has not been crushing on me. That's ridiculous." Sabrina said blushing.

"Girl, please. A blind man can see that way he looks at you. And telling by how I caught the two of you snuggled up on this sofa last week, you might just feel the same way."

"Your reaching Felix. I fell asleep. That was all."

"Mmhmm" Felix said rolling his eyes "You keep lying to yourself while I go make myself fabulous. Not that it's going to take much."

Felix headed back into his room as Sabrina thought about his accusation. He was way off base, she thought. Ethan was just being nice to her, probably out of pity. There was nothing more between them. Sabrina kept that thought running in her mind regardless of how incorrect it was.

* * *

"Here ya go Patrick, Emma's favorite" Mac said handing him the bag of food.

"Thanks, Mac."

"Everything ok with you guys? I know Robin is still staying with Anna and Duke.

"Um... yeah. It's complicated." He replied avoiding eye contact with Robin's Uncle. Things were difficult enough without his interrogations.

"You don't have to tell me that. I know you guys will work it out."

Patrick smiled and turned around to leave The Floating Rib and almost crashed into Ethan as he walked in.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mate." Ethan smiled.

"No, it was my fault. Not paying attention" Patrick tried to smile but got a flashback of Sabrina in his arms the week before. Being nice was the last thing Patrick wanted to do to Ethan Lovett.

"Hey Mac" Ethan called walking past Patrick to the bar.

"Ethan, what can I get for you?"

"Um, nothing right now. I think I should wait for my date"

"Date huh? Who's the lucky lady?" Mac asked.

Patrick stood there listening interested in the answer to that questions himself. Maybe he was wrong about Ethan and Sabrina's relationship. They were clearly just friends if Ethan was here meeting another woman. Before Patrick could begin to let go of his animosity towards Ethan, Sabrina and Felix walked in the door.

"Oh boy…" Felix said under his breath the moment he spotted Patrick.

"Hi" Patrick whispered attention focused on Sabrina.

"Dr. Drake" She replied coldly.

"Ok then" Felix interjected. "There's Ethan. Come on" Felix said grabbing Sabrina by the arm. Patrick watched as Sabrina walked over to Ethan and his jealousy returned. The woman Ethan had a date with was his woman.

"Patrick, you ok?" Mac asked from behind the bar.

Patrick balled up his fist and walk out of the door without responding.

"You look beautiful" Ethan said once Sabrina was in front of him.

"Thanks" She replied shyly.

"That must have been awkward, huh?"

"No… well yeah. But it's fine. It's a small town. You're bound to run into people you don't want to every now and then." Sabrina replied

"Exactly. Let's not let that ruin our night." Felix said

"Right, but I don't see Dr. Jones anywhere." Sabrina said looking around.

"Look again girl" Felix smiled looking towards the entrance of the bar. Lucas Jones spotted Felix and waved.

"Hey, am I late?" He asked

"Not at all. We just go here. Lucas, this is Ethan Lovett and I think you know Sabrina right?" Felix said making introductions.

"Nice to meet you, Ethan" Lucas replied shaking his hand "And yes I have met Nurse Santiago before but I haven't seen you around much lately."

"That's because her crazy ass decided to take on the graveyard shift." Felix interrupted.

"Wow, that's a rough shift" Lucas said.

"Yeah, it has been. I'm actually going back to days this week. Epiphany was getting sick of me falling asleep in patients' rooms" They laughed but she was serious.

"So... Lucas, let's go get a booth." Felix suggested. "And you two can find something else to do" he whispered as they walked away. He clearly wanted to be alone with the good Doctor.

"So can I get you a beer?" Ethan asked.

"Make it a shot. A few of them." Sabrina replied

"Wow ok" Ethan said motioning to the bartender.

"What?"

"You just don't look like a heavy liquor drinker is all."

"Well, there's a first time for everything" She replied throwing back the first shot as soon and the bartender put it in front of her. She was trying to play off her run in with Patrick earlier. Trying to make it seem like it hadn't affected her as much as it did. Whoever said time healed all wounds had clearly never been in love. Sabrina thought that If not time, then maybe the vodka would help numb it.

"Slow down there" Ethan said after her third shot. "Come on. Let's see if we can find something on the jukebox." He grabbed her hand and walked across the room and began flipping through the songs.

Sabrina looked over to Felix who looked to be in deep conversation with Lucas and smiled. If she couldn't be lucky in love, she was hoping her best friend would be.

"Ahh here we go." Ethan said selecting a random song. "Dance with me"

"I don't really think this is a dancing establishment, Ethan" She chuckled.

"So what" Ethan took Sabrina by the hand, spun her around and pulled her into his body. The touch of his hand on her lower back made Sabrina shiver. The scent of his cologne made her head cloudy. She didn't understand the reaction she was having to this man. The alcohol, she thought. It must be the alcohol. For the next few hours Ethan, Sabrina, Felix and Lucas spent the night laughing, drinking, dancing and shooting pool. Sabrina couldn't even recall the last time she had this much fun. It was the first time in a long time that her mind hadn't gone to Patrick every 10 minutes. Felix was right again, this was exactly what she needed.

"Hey, Lucas and I are going to hit up another spot, you guys in?" Felix asked.

"I don't think so" Sabrina said leaning up against the bar.

"Girl, what on earth possessed you to drink that much. You can barely hold a wine cooler." Felix said moving Sabrina's hair away from her face.

"It's ok, I'll make sure she gets home. I've only really had one beer." Ethan chuckled

"Thanks Ethan. Don't hit any potholes on the way unless you want to have to power steam your car tomorrow."

"Got it. Come on" Ethan said wrapping Sabrina's arm around his shoulders as they walked to the car.

By the time they made it to the apartment, Ethan was forced to carry Sabrina over his shoulder, and lay her down on the couch. Ethan laughed as he watched her fumble around with her shoes. She was a pitiful sight. A beautiful pitiful sight.

"You are so drunk" He laughed.

"And I intend on getting drunker still" She slurred "I think Felix has a bottle of vodka around here somewhere" She said getting up from the couch and stumbling for the kitchen

"Whoa" Ethan said catching her before she could fall "I think you've had enough. Don't you?" He asked wrapping his arms around her waist.

Sabrina looked up at Ethan and smiled "You're a good guy, you know that?"

"I try to be" He smiled back. Even in a drunken stupor, Sabrina Santiago was still stunning. Ethan kept one hand on her back to keep her upright and outlined the structure of her face with the other. "You're so beautiful" He whispered.

"I'm a mess" She replied lowering her head.

"You're perfect."

Sabrina raised her head and locked eyes with Ethan and saw that look Felix was talking about. She kept saying she needed to move on with her life. So why not move on with Ethan? With a man who had taken a bullet for her. A man that had been there for her for months without question and without ulterior motives. Sabrina couldn't come up with an answer in her state of mind. So she did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled Ethan's face to hers and kissed him. Lightly at first as she wasn't sure how he would respond. She pulled away to read his eyes. Ethan was surprised at the gesture but captivated at the same time. After a few seconds of nervous energy, Ethan pulled Sabrina back into his arms and kissed her the way he had wanted to since the moment he stepped off the hospital elevator. He kissed her with a passion that he'd been holding in for months. He didn't even mind the taste of vodka on her breath. She was flawless in his eyes. Sabrina ran her fingers through Ethan's hair as he walked her backwards towards the sofa. Sabrina didn't know that was going on in her head. All she knew was this man was giving her a feeling that she didn't want to end. Once they hit the sofa Sabrina pulled Ethan on top of her and began grabbing at the belt buckle to his jeans.

"Wait" Ethan said stopping her. "We can't."

"Yes, we can" Sabrina replied kissing his neck.

"No we can't" Ethan stood up from the couch and took a few steps back. "I can't."

Sabrina sat up from the couch and looked around embarrassed. "You don't have feelings for me?" She asked.

"Yes, I do. Which is why I can't do this. Not like this. Sabrina, I can't be the guy you use to get over the guy you want."

"That's not what I'm doing" She whispered.

"Ok then, answer me this. Sonny seems to think that when Robin came back, Patrick left you and went back to her. I have a feeling he's completely wrong and that it was the other way around. Am I right?"

Sabrina finally made eye contact with Ethan "Yes. But what does that matter?"

"Sabrina, you walked away from the man you love so that he and his daughter could be happy with Robin. That's the most selfless thing anyone could do. It proves how much you really love him" He said looking down at the floor. "I can't do this. Not to you and not to me. Yes, I have feeling for you. Truth be told I've had them since the moment I laid eyes on you, but you're not ready to move on yet. You're still in so much pain. I can see it in your eyes. And I can't be the rebound guy. Our friendship means too much to me and I would never take advantage of you like this."

"Ethan… I'm sorry" She sighed.

"No, it's ok. Listen, I'm going to go and let you sleep this off." Ethan said turning to leave. Before he was out the door he turned back to Sabrina and smiled "But when you are finally ready to move on, you know where to find me."


	24. Chapter 24

CH 24

"I think I was finally able to get Emma back down" Patrick said walking back into the living room.

"Good. At least one of us was" Robin replied from her seat on the couch.

"It's going to take some time Robin."

"Yeah. That's what everyone keeps telling me." Robin still hadn't moved back into the house she once shared with her husband and daughter, but they were slowly beginning to reintegrate her back into Emma's life. Starting with tucking her in at night. Unfortunately on this night Emma woke up from a nightmare and cried for Sabrina. "Maybe you should just call her. In case Emma wakes up again."

"I uh… I don't think that'll be necessary" Patrick said looking down at his feet. His mind flashed back to seeing Sabrina with Ethan at the Floating Rib a week earlier. It took everything in him not to knock Ethan's lights out and grab Sabrina by her arm and carry her out of there. She didn't belong with Ethan. She belonged with him. Patrick knew that in his heart even if Sabrina didn't.

"You love her don't you?" Robin asked reading Patrick's thoughts.

"Who?" He replied know exactly who she meant.

"Patrick, I'm not stupid or blind. You love Sabrina. Don't you?"

Patrick looked around the room and ran his fingers through his hair trying to avoid the question.

"Be honest with me!" Robin said raising her voice.

"Yes! Ok. Yes, I love Sabrina, but you already knew that, Robin." He responded.

Robin lowered her head to hide the pain in her eyes "Do you love me?"

"Robin…"

"Don't answer that. Instead answer something else for me. You and Sabrina not being together right now, is that you're doing?" She asked raising her head.

"I don't think I understand what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean, Patrick. She walked away, didn't she?"

"Yes" He whispered.

"That's why you can't get over her, because there's no closure. She took that away for you. I understand now. The way you look at her, it makes sense now."

"Robin…" Patrick tried to interrupt.

"No, its fine Patrick. You should talk to her. Ya know, get everything out in the open. The three of us can't move on as a family until that's settled. Call her." She said standing up from the sofa.

"I can't do that…"

"Yes you can. Do you want me to call her?" She asked with panic in here voice.

"Robin slow down for a minute" Patrick tried to place his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away.

"Patrick, its fine. Give me your phone. I'll call her." Robin reached for Patrick's phone on the coffee table.

"Robin, stop!" Patrick said grabbing the phone away from her

Robin looked at Patrick and could see it in his eyes. She had seen this look before but she was choosing to ignore it. She thought that if she didn't acknowledge it, it would just go away but it wasn't. "You want her, don't you?" She asked with tears streaming down her face. "If she had given you the choice, you would have chosen her…"

"Robin…"

"Would you have chosen her?!" She screamed as Patrick just stood there with this head hanging down. When he finally met his eyes with hers, she saw his answer "I have to get out of here" She said grabbing her purse and heading to the door."

"Robin wait…" Patrick called after her, but he didn't stop her from leaving. She knew the truth. Patrick couldn't lie to her anymore. Now he just had to make Sabrina listen to him.

* * *

"Good morning, Dr. Drake" Elizabeth said in a chipper voice.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Oh, nice flowers." He said noticing the vase of white roses sitting on the counter of the nurses' station. "From AJ?"

"Actually, no. They're not for me."

"No? Who are they for?" He said flipping through a patient chart.

"Um… I'm not really sure I should answer that." She replied.

Patrick looked up from his patient file and noticed the embarrassed look on her face. He set the file down, picked up the card and read Sabrina's name on the envelop. "Let me guess, Ethan?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"I would assume so. I know they've gotten… close." She said looking away.

"Yeah, I know. I saw them on a date last week." He sighed.

"Oh Patrick, I'm sorry."

"He doesn't even know her favorite flower." He whispered to himself "I need to get some air." Patrick threw the card on the counter and headed for the elevator. Once the doors closed he hit R for roof. He had to clear his mind. So much was happening at once. Robin was devastated at his non admission of the obvious, Sabrina was dating someone else, and Emma was crying out for the only mother she could truly remember. Patrick's life was in disarray and he didn't know how to even begin to fix it.

He walked towards the doors to the roof and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. He looked out and saw Sabrina leaning forward against the wall looking exactly how he felt. "Hey" He called from the door.

Sabrina jumped at the sound of his voice "Patrick… what are you doing up here?"

"The same as you, I supposed." He said slowly walking towards her. "A lot on my mind."

"Oh, well let me give you some privacy" She said trying to walk past him.

Patrick grabbed her arm and pulled her back "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" She asked

"Running away from me."

"Patrick, let go of me." Sabrina tried to pull her arm away but couldn't.

"I can't! Why can't you see that?! I can't let go of you Sabrina. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?!" He yelled finally loosening his grip on her arm.

"I'm trying to do what's right, Patrick."

"If you honestly think that, you're a damn fool. None of this is right. I'm miserable. Emma is miserable" He said with tears in his eyes.

Sabrina lowered her head at the thought of Emma being in pain "I meant what I said to Emma, I'm always going to be there for her, but I have to move on. You have to let me move on."

"With Ethan?"

"That's none of your business!" She snapped

"Yes it is, Sabrina! You are my business! I hate this. Seeing you with him, I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck."

"Ethan is a good guy…"

"But does he love you the way I do?" He asked taking her face into his hands

"Patrick…"

"Does he?"

Sabrina turned her head away thinking of her and Ethan's almost drunken tryst the previous week. She knew how Ethan felt about her. He cared about her enough to stop her from making a mistake.

Patrick stepped back as if he were reading her thoughts "Exactly how serious are the two of you? Sabrina… god, please tell me you didn't sleep with him."

"And what if I did?" She said the words before thinking.

"No..." Patrick said shaking his head "You wouldn't do that to us."

"To us? Patrick, you're married! There is no us!" She yelled.

"She knows, Sabrina! Robin knows."

"She knows what?"

"That I love you. That I want to be with you. That if you hadn't stripped me of my choice, I would have chosen you. She knows everything."

"You told her that?" She asked surprised.

"I didn't have to. She asked me last night and could see it all over me. I love you. I am in love with you. You are the love of my life. I don't want to be any place you're not." He said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Patrick, stop" she said trying to pull away.

"Never. I will never stop loving you, Sabrina" He pulled her into a kiss that practically lifted her off her feet. She struggled at first after finally giving in. She couldn't fight anymore. She missed this. She missed him. No other man had ever made her feel like this. Every time he touched her it was as if she had left her body. Every inch of her yearned for this man. Craved him. Patrick Drake was her drug of choice and there was no detox from it. Sabrina relapsed back into her addiction as she and Patrick made love on the roof of General Hospital.

* * *

"Sonny!" Robin screamed as she bolted through the front door past Max.

"Boss!" Max said trying to stop her.

"It's ok Max" Sonny replied. "What can I do for you Robin?" He asked once Max left the room.

"You can keep your daughter the hell away from my husband! That's what you can do."

"What are you talking about? They broke up, did they not?" He asked standing up from his chair and walking towards her.

"Yes, but… It's not enough. He still loves her. It's like she has some kind of a hold over him."

"Well, I'm not sure what I can do about that, Robin…"

"You better do something, Sonny. You promised me. When your guys found me in Switzerland and moved me back to the states, you promised me you would handle this."

"Robin…"

"Handle it! Because if I lose my family Sonny, you better believe I won't be the only one."


	25. Chapter 25

CH 25

"So let me get this straight" Felix said pacing the floor of his and Sabrina's apartment "You and Aussie, I mean Ethan, almost did a drunken horizontal tango on my good sofa?"

"Yep" Sabrina replied.

"But you stopped?" He asked confused.

"Yep"

"Well I guess that's a good thing. I take naps on this sofa, girl. But anyway, so you stopped with Ethan and then started with Patrick again?"

"Yep" Sabrina sighed "On the hospital roof."

Felix's eyes got big as he collapsed back on the couch next to Sabrina "Shut up! You didn't?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I… I don't even know what to say right now. I have never been so proud of you. I want to dance a jig." Felix said beaming from ear to ear.

"Don't dance just yet" Sabrina said standing up from the couch and walking over to the window.

"Why not? You two are back together and I didn't even have to break a sweat to make it happen this time. This is definitely cause for celebration."

"That's just it, Felix, we're not back together. What happened with me a Patrick last week was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. I was just so confused about everything. And he shows up looking the way he did, saying the things he said. He touched me and I lost all my inhibitions."

"So wait a minute, did you guys decide that it was just a onetime thing?"

"Not exactly. I just kind of bolted out of there afterwards. I haven't really spoken to him since."

"Sabrina!" Felix shot up from the sofa in disgust.

"I know, Felix You don't have to say it. I'm running."

"Girl, running is a good way of putting it. You're playing with that man's emotions. That's not right and you know it."

"That's not what I'm trying to do, Felix. I'm wrestling with right and wrong here, ok? Why should my wants and desires matter more than Patrick and Emma getting their family back?"

"Because Sabrina, the family Patrick and Emma want doesn't exist without you. Anyone with two eyes can see that."

"Felix…" Sabrina began before being interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it. 20 bucks says it's Patrick." Felix said walking to the door. "Oh.. Dr. Scorpio-Drake… Um, hi."

"Hello" Robin said "May I come in?"

"Um... yeah sure." Felix said allowing Robin in the apartment.

"Robin? Hi. Is everything ok? Is Emma alright?" Sabrina asked thinking of the only reason Robin would be on her door step.

"Emma is fine. I was wondering if we could talk" Robin replied looking awkwardly at Felix.

"Alright then, let me get my ass to work before Epiphany sends in the Swat. I'll see you later girl." Felix gave Sabrina a concerned look before finally leaving the apartment.

"So... can I get you something to drink maybe?" Sabrina offered.

"No, that won't be necessary. This won't take long."

"Ok, so what is this about?"

Robin began to slowly wander about the apartment surveying the small space "Well it's about my family. I think it's time you and I get a few things out in the open.

Sabrina sighed. Patrick must have told her about the roof she thought to herself. "Ok" She said as she sat at the desk by the window.

"I don't know how much Patrick has told you about our relationship but I'm going to assume it was everything, you two being so close and all. We went through a lot, ya know. Did you know after I had Emma, I suffered through postpartum depression?" She asked.

"Actually no, I didn't" Sabrina replied.

"Oh, well yeah I did. It was a scary time for me, for us. Patrick was always supportive though. He loved me through some of my toughest times. And I loved him through his. Even after Lisa Niles…?

"Who?" Sabrina interrupted.

"He didn't tell you that either? Wow. Well Lisa Niles was his ex from college. She came to town when Emma was still a toddler. She made our lives a living hell. Patrick didn't see at first what a psycho she was. I heard he had that same lack of observation with Britt Westbourne as well. I don't know what it is about a pretty face that causes Patrick to lose his senses. But even when he slept with Lisa, I was able to forgive him."

Sabrina looked at Robin with pure shock on her face "Patrick cheated on you?" She asked.

Robin cocked her head to the side and grinned "You know Sabrina, for someone who was supposedly such an important person on my husband's life, he didn't let you in on a lot."

"Robin, why are you telling me all of this?" Sabrina asked even though she knew the answer. Robin was there to make a point and it was working.

"I just wanted to let you know that I fought like hell to get back to my family and I am not going to walk away now just because Patrick has found another pretty face to admire. I am always going to be the most import woman in Patrick's life. I know things about him that you can't even begin to understand."

"Robin…"

"I'm not finished." She shot back "I sat in that clinic in Switzerland for over a year thinking about how things would go when I finally made it home. All I could see was Patrick and Emma's face. Because of them, I never gave up hope. I never stopped fighting to get back to them. And then one day Sonny's guys bust through the door and…"

"Wait, Sonny? What does he have to do with this?" Sabrina questioned.

"Oh I thought you knew. Well your good old Dad was actually the one who found me and had me moved back to Ferncliff. He and Britt's mother made a deal of sorts. She would take wrap for everything she did and Britt would go free. The only catch was she had to let me go. I was surprised that's all it took. I thought her hatred for my mother would actually be stronger than her love for her daughter."

"I… I don't understand" Sabrina began looking around the apartment as if she had never been there before. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Come on, Sabrina. Did you ever stop to think how odd it was that the PCPD's most wanted woman was able to walk into a Federal Courthouse with a loaded gun and not get stopped? Sonny arranged all of that, Sabrina. Well, maybe not the Ethan getting shot part, but all of the rest of it. He wanted me home with my family just as much as I did. It's no secret how much Sonny and Patrick hate each other. He wanted you as far away from him as possible. Guess he was growing tired of using Ethan to it so he made it happen by other means."

"No, he… he wouldn't do that."

"I forgot, you're new to being Sonny's kid. You should know that there is nothing Sonny wouldn't do to manipulate the lives of his kids to better suit his own needs. It's kind of the Corinthos way." Robin chuckled.

"Get out" Sabrina whispered.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. You've made your point now get out!" Sabrina shouted as she opened the front door.

Robin smiled knowing her job there was done "I trust that we understand each other now." She said walking past Sabrina who slammed the door behind her.

Sabrina slid against the door to the floor in disbelief, shock and pain. Her own father had a hand in shattering her life and her heart.

* * *

"Dr. Scorpio-Drake" Brad called into the hall from the hospital lab. "I have your labs."

Robin made a u-turn and walked into the lab "Mind keeping your voice down?" She said once she closed the door.

"I'm sorry. Here" He said handing her the medical file "I'm still not comfortable with this."

"Your comfort level is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment Mr. Cooper."

"I realize that. It's just that I'm still on probation after everything Dr. Westbourne made me do. The only reason I wasn't fired was because I told the board her and her crazy mother threatened to kill me. Which wasn't a complete lie by the way. If they find out I'm falsifying medical records again, that's it for me."

"You know the more you talk, the less I care. You can go now."

"Fine" he said collecting his things. "But just so you know, nothing has changed."

Once Brad left the room Robin opened her lab report and sank down in the nearest chair. Her T-Cell levels were no better now than they were a month earlier when she had Brad change the results. Robin threw the report to the ground and lightly chuckled at herself. It was kind of ironic. Everything she was doing to keep her family would be for nothing if she didn't find a new protocol in the next year.

* * *

"Sabrina, what do I own this pleasant surprise?" Sonny said greeting his daughter as she walked into the living room.

"You son of a bitch" Sabrina screamed and she reached her arm back and slapped Sonny across the face.

Sonny stepped back in shock and grabbed the side of his face. "What the hell was that for?"

"How could you?" Sabrina asked through tears.

Sonny lowered his head realizing what brought on her outburst "Robin told you, didn't she?"

"Yes she did. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sabrina, listen to me. I didn't mean for all of this to happen this way. When I sent my people to find Britt's mother, I didn't set out to find Robin instead. I was just as shocked as everyone else. I couldn't just leave her there. Bringing her back to her family was the right thing to do even if you don't see it right now."

"No, I agree with you. It's the way you went about it. Instead of contacting the authorities or Anna, you took an already delicate situation and decided to use it in way a best suit you and your agenda. In a way you knew would hurt me the most."

"My intension was never to hurt you…"

"I could give a damn about your intensions, Sonny! It's your actions I have a problem with. So was Ethan in on this plan with you too."

"No. Ethan didn't know anything about Robin."

"So he took a bullet to the back because you decided to toy with people's lives?"

"What do you want me to say?! You're my kid! My job is to protect my kids!" Sonny yelled.

"No, your job is to protect yourself. I am clear on that now." Sabrina nodded her head as she wiped away her tears "Patrick tried to warn me. Hell, even Dante tried to warn me. You are a manipulative, jaded man you know that?"

"Well, you know I've been called worse." Sonny said.

Sabrina smirked "That's funny. I'm glad you know what you are Sonny. Now let me tell you what you're not. My father." Sabrina turned around and stormed out of Sonny's house and out of his life.


	26. Chapter 26

CH 26

_16 new voicemails_

Sabrina looked at her phone and rolled her eyes before tossing it into her locker. She was avoiding everything in her life that she was too scared to confront. She was avoiding Ethan because of her guilt over slipping back into Patrick's orbit. She was avoiding Patrick for the same reason and because of Robin's not so subtle threats a few days earlier. And she was avoiding Sonny because… well that was self explanatory. She had only been a Corinthos for a few months and already he felt the need to control her life. Although at this point she had done such a bad job of controlling it herself, she was thinking maybe outside help was needed.

"Penny for your thoughts." Patrick said standing behind her.

"Patrick!" She jumped "You have to stop sneaking up on me like that."

"Well this seems to be the only way I can get you to talk to me. Why haven't you called me back?"

"I've been a little preoccupied lately." She replied closing her locker.

"So you're avoiding me?" He asked

"Yes, but you're not the only one." She sighed

"Well, I think we should talk."

"About what?"

"Sabrina, you know damn well what about. About us... and what happened on the roof…"

"Speaking of which" Sabrina interrupted "Did you tell Robin about that?"

"No, not yet"

"Oh" Sabrina's thoughts returned to the conversation she had with Robin. How she made it a point to let Sabrina know that she was the one who knew everything there was to know about Patrick. Clearly that wasn't the case this time.

"Why do you ask?" Patrick questioned.

"Huh? Oh it was just something she said."

"Robin talked to you? When? What about?"

"Yeah she stopped by the apartment a few days ago… You know what, it doesn't matter. I have to get back to work." Sabrina said trying to walk past him.

"Wait a minute" He said blocking her path. "We have to talk about this. About how to go about this."

"Go about what?" Sabrina asked confused.

"Well I have to tell Robin at some point. We need to talk about the next step… Legally"

"Wait a minute, back up. What are you talking about?"

"Divorce." He sighed

"Divorce? Patrick… you can't do that. This is moving way too fast."

"Sabrina, we made love. You can't just pretend it didn't happen."

"I'm not pretending. I fully acknowledge my lapse in judgment, but that doesn't change anything."

"Are you kidding me, that changes everything. You want to be with me just as much as I want to be with you." She said grabbing her hand.

"What happened that night… It was a mistake." She replied avoiding eye contact.

"The hell it was, Sabrina. There has always been a gravitational pull between us. No matter what the obstacle, no matter what is thrown at us, all roads lead back to each other. So if what happened on the roof was a mistake, please tell me how on earth we're ever going to be able to stop it from happening again." Patrick took a step closer and put his hand on her lower back.

"Patrick…" Sabrina whispered. She took a step back to create distance to which Patrick took another step forward. Sabrina took another step back. Patrick took another step forward. They continued this dance until Sabrina was pinned up against the locker with Patrick's hands her body and his breath on her skin.

"I love you" He whispered in her ear "I will never stop loving you and you can't make me."

"Patrick…" Sabrina tried to form words but the touch of Patrick hands made her mind turn to jelly.

"Tell me you love me." He demanded kissing her neck.

"I…" She moaned "I…"

"Oh!" Felix exclaimed as he entered the locker room and jokingly placed his hands over his eyes "My bad. Sorry to interrupt, but Sabrina Daddy Mobster is driving the nursing staff crazy. He says he's not leaving until you agree to talk to him."

"Really?" She said freeing herself from Patrick's arms.

"Yep. He said since you haven't been taking his calls, he's decided to drive the entire hospital mad. I swear if he starts talking in the Godfather's voice, I'm hitting the floor."

"He just doesn't stop does he?" Sabrina sighed.

"I'm sorry, what happened with you and Sonny?" Patrick questioned.

"Oh, well Papa Goodfellas out there decided to try and control Sabrina's life…"

"Felix!" Sabrina stopped him with an evil look "It's nothing. Any problem between me and my father is just that, between us. It's not your concern, Patrick."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you are my concern?"

Sabrina buried her head in her hands wanting to scream. "I don't have time for this right now" She groaned heading out of the locker room.

"Felix, can you talk some sense into her?" Patrick asked.

Felix chuckled "Can you?"

* * *

"I just don't understand why you felt the need to tell her, Robin" Sonny said in an angry whisper so that no one at the busy nurses' station could hear him.

"What was I supposed to do?" Robin replied.

"I told you I would handle it."

"Yeah well you were taking too long. I had to take things into my own hands."

"And how exactly does making her mad at me help keep her away from Patrick?" Sonny questioned

"Well I figured if she was distracted with your drama, she wouldn't have time to partake in other activities with my husband."

"Well clearly that didn't work either" Sonny said looking over Robin's shoulder. Robin turned around to see Sabrina walking their way with Patrick close behind.

"What do you want?" Sabrina said once she reached them.

"I was hoping we could talk" Sonny replied.

"Sonny I really am not ready to do this with you right now."

"I know, but this isn't about that" Sonny said shooting a glaring look at Robin. One that didn't escape Patrick's attention. "Have you spoken to Ethan recently?"

"Um…" Sabrina exchanged looks with Patrick who was visibly annoyed at just the mention of Ethan's name "Not really why?"

"Well I've had him working on something for me. For you too. Looks like he's making some headway and I thought you should know about."

"Oh so you're doing something else behind my back only this time you do want to fill me in on it. Interesting. What is it now Sonny?" She asked armed crossed.

"It's your mother. I think I've found Lily." He replied

Sabrina mouth dropped open and her arms fell to her side. "You… you found her."

"I told you I would, didn't I?" He smiled

"Wh… Where?"

"Well the guy Juan told us about, the one that helped her get away, I figured he had to have kept some record of Lily before he died or told someone about her."

"And he did?"

"Yes, his son. His name is Eduardo Mendoza. Ethan was able to track him to a small village outside of the capital of Colombia as recently as a month ago. I sent one of my guys down there a few weeks ago to get better intel. He reported back that he is indeed still living there and with a woman that fits Lily's description."

"So it's her?" Sabrina said with tears in her eyes.

"Sabrina, I don't know for sure. South America is full of women who fit Lily's description. And my guy wasn't able to get close enough to tell for sure. I'm going to keep him posted there for a while. Thinking about maybe even sending Ethan down as well."

"Ok, then I'm going with him." Sabrina stated plainly.

"Sabrina." Sonny and Patrick said in unison. They were clearly thinking the same thing.

"What? She's my mother. And besides, if it is her, don't you think she would be more receptive to me than one of your goons?" Sabrina replied to Sonny.

"Yeah, I guess your right…"

"Over my dead body" Patrick interjected causing Sabrina, Sonny and Robin to all give him a curious look.

"Patrick, I don't think this is any of our business" Robin said trying not to grit her teeth.

"Colombia is a very dangerous country. I… I just don't want Sabrina to be put in danger over a hunch." He replied.

"I agree" Sonny added. "Let me and Ethan do a little more research. And if it is her…"

"Then I'm going" Sabrina demanded.

"Can I talk to you for a minute" Patrick said pulling Sabrina to the side before she could reply. "Are you crazy?" He whispered.

"Patrick this is my mother we're talking about. A mother that I never got a chance to know. And now I do. I can't just walk away from that."

"You also cannot put yourself in harms way over something that's not concrete. I won't let you."

"Well luckily you don't have a say in it" Sabrina snapped.

Patrick stepped back and placed his hands on his hips "Do you honestly think putting distance between us is going to change how we feel?"

Sabrina diverted her eyes back to Robin. If looks could kill Sabrina would be a dead woman "This isn't about us"

"No? So you're going to go gallivanting around the globe with Ethan and you honestly think I'm going to be ok with that? No, Sabrina."

"Patrick this is my family. You have your own you need to be worrying about." Sabrina said before walking away and back over to Sonny. "So how long before you know something for sure?"

"I'm going to keep Mr. Mendoza under surveillance for a few weeks, maybe a month. Get familiar with his routine and the people he interacts with. Hopefully my guy can get close enough to the woman to get a clear picture. Then we'll know something for sure."

"Ok. And when you do, I'll be ready" Sabrina said confidently. This was just the thing she needed to distract her from all the men in her life. Sabrina needed her mother.


	27. Chapter 27

CH 27

"Can you zoom in there?" Sabrina asked as she and Ethan were looking at surveillance footage on his laptop in Sonny's living room. They had been getting reports back from Sonny's team for a few weeks now and still hadn't gotten a good image of the mystery woman living with Edwardo Mendoza. They were either blocked by security or the woman in question was always hiding her face. That alone convinced Sabrina it was Lily.

"It's too grainy" Ethan replied.

"Dammit" Sabrina said frustrated.

"Hey, it's ok. We'll keep trying" Ethan said placing his hand on her shoulder. "We both know Sonny isn't going to give up either. I mean, this was his first wife."

"Yeah… That's got to be a little strange for Olivia. I know they are trying to build something with each other again. To have his dead wife come back…" Sabrina's voice trailed off as she realized the irony.

"I guess you would know something about that, huh?" Ethan asked.

"I guess so." She whispered. It had been over a month since her and Patrick's roof top rendezvous and nothing had really been settled. She was focused on finding Lily and Patrick was busy trying to help Emma's relationship with Robin. Sabrina got the occasional 'We need to talk' text from him but every time they tried something or someone intervened. Maybe it was for the best she thought. "Ok, let's get back to the task at hand. Has Sonny determined why this Mendoza guy is so heavily surrounded by security?"

"We assume it has something to do with his connections to Hernando Rivera's cartel but from what we can gather, that died when he did. I'm thinking Eddie here decided to build his own little empire. Colombia would definitely be the place to do it."

Sabrina smirked "Now THAT is ironic."

"How do you mean?"

"My mother faked her own death and gave me away to get away from her husband the mob boss and her father the mob boss only to end up with another one? Doesn't sound right."

"Good point. Hadn't really thought about it like that."

"Well that's all I've been thinking about." She sighed.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ethan asked.

"Sure."

"Have you thought about how you're going to react when we actually do find her? Are you going to blame her for what she did?"

Sabrina looked at Ethan and then back to the grainy image on the computer screen "I honestly don't know. I understand why she did what she did. At least I think I do. I guess I would have to hear her side of it before I knew for sure. Losing who I thought was my mother at such a young age… I don't know. I guess I've always felt it was a void that I needed to fill somehow. Never in a million years did I think it would be in this way though."

"Yeah" Ethan nodded "That makes sense."

"I think the best thing I can do is just be face to face with her."

"Is Patrick going to be ok with you going?" Ethan asked.

"It's not up to him."

Ethan grew quiet and looked down at the floor "It's ok, you know?"

"What?"

"You wanting to be with Patrick."

"Ethan…"

"Hear me out. You have spent the past few months putting everyone else's happiness before your own. Isn't it time you go after what makes you happy?"

"I…" Before Sabrina could answer she heard the soft buzz of her phone vibrating. She picked it up and saw Patrick's face on the screen. "I'll be right back" She said walking into to foyer for privacy. "Hello?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you?" Patrick asked.

"I'm over Sonny's. We're going over some leads into Lily's whereabouts. Why what's up?"

"Is Ethan with you?"

Sabrina could hear Patrick's jealous through the phone "Yes. If you're calling me to talk about that…"

"No I'm not" He interrupted before taking a deep breath. "Soon that won't matter anyway."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina questioned.

"I'm telling Robin tonight. I'm telling her everything, Sabrina. Everything."

"Patrick is that really necessary?"

"I have to be completely honest with her. I don't want her to think I cheated on her."

"Well technically we did."

"I think once I explain it to her, she'll understand"

"Patrick I don't think…"

"I don't want to hear it, Sabrina. You're not talking me out of this. I love you and I want to be with you. I will continue to say it until you believe me."

"I do believe you, Patrick." She sighed

"And you love me?" He asked

"You know I do."

"That's all I needed to hear. I'm telling her tonight. I'll be as gentle as possible but she has to know. Robin is a pretty level minded person. I think she'll understand."

"You think so, huh?" Sabrina asked thinking back to her conversation with Robin in her living room.

"Yes I do, why? You don't?"

"I think Robin loves her family more than anything and will fight like hell to keep them. At least that's the impression I got when she practically threatened me in my own home a few weeks ago."

"Wait, she did what? You told me she came to see you but you didn't tell me what she said. She threatened you? How?"

"You should just ask her. I have to go."

"Wait… I love you" He said.

Sabrina tried to blink away her tears "I know."

"Tell me you'll wait for me."

"Patrick…"

"Please. Tell me." He pleaded.

Sabrina paused and closed her eyes. She couldn't fight him anymore. He was right this entire time. They belonged together regardless of who thought otherwise. He was willing to make this big of a sacrifice her and for their love. Patrick was choosing her and Sabrina was finally willing to let him. "Ok… I'll wait." She smiled.

"I love you so much. I promise this will all be over soon. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye" She said as she hung up the phone.

Sabrina began walking back into the living to continue going through footage with Ethan when she suddenly felt the room begin to spin. She grabbed onto the doorframe to keep herself up and buckled over in a state of dizziness.

"Hey" Ethan said running to her side to help her up "You ok?"

"Yeah.. I… I just got really dizzy all of the sudden"

"Come on, sit down" Ethan said guiding her over to the couch. "Better?"

"Yeah a little. That was strange." She said finally getting her bearings.

"Not so much. Your stress level must be through the roof. Have you eaten anything today?"

Sabrina searched her brain but couldn't come up with an answer "I don't think so" She chuckled.

"Ok, let me see what I can find in the kitchen." Ethan said getting up from the couch.

"That's not necessary. I'm supposed to meet Felix at Kelly's in like 20 minutes anyway. I'll get something there."

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I feel fine now." Sabrina stood up slowly and waited to see if she would get the same feeling as before but there was nothing. "See, all better" She gathered her things and headed to the door.

"Ok but call me if you need anything" Ethan offered.

"Will do" Sabrina smiled.

* * *

"Hey come on in" Patrick said opening the door for Robin.

"Thanks." She said entering the home they once shared and sitting on the couch. "I'm assuming this isn't about Emma since she's at Mac and Felicia's."

"Um no. This isn't bout Emma. I was hoping we could talk"

"OK, what about?"

"Us" He replied

Robin smiled thinking Patrick was finally coming around. After months of distance and his mind being elsewhere, maybe he was finally beginning to remember how much they loved each other. "Yeah I would like that."

"Ok well…" Patrick began walking back and forth thinking of a way to start. He knew what he wanted to say, he just needed to think of a way to say so that he didn't hurt Robin any more than he was about to. "I know that since you've been back things have been at a bit of a standstill, and I'm sorry for that."

"It's ok, Patrick. I knew it would take some time."

"There has just been so much confusion and uncertainty. And most of that is my fault. I've been a little... distracted lately. I didn't know exactly what I wanted but I do now." Patrick sat down on the couch next to Robin and took her hand into his. "You already know all there is to know about my relationship with Sabrina but I think I have to kind of clarify my feelings so that you understand where I'm coming from."

Robin slightly flinched at the sound of Sabrina's name. Why was he bringing her up now? "Patrick, I understand how close you and Sabrina were. We don't have to rehash that."

"I think we do." Patrick sighed.

"Why?"

Patrick lowered his head and took a deep breath "Because… Sabrina and I… We um… we had a moment recently where we got close again."

Robin lightly nodded her head as if she were reading his mind "You slept together?" She said plainly.

"Yes" He whispered.

"When?" Robin asked wiping the tears from her eyes.

"A little over a month ago."

"Wow…" Robin stood up and walked towards the patio doors. "She didn't mention that when we talked."

"Yeah about that, what exactly was said between the two of you?"

"Um, nothing much."

"Really, because Sabrina took whatever you said as a threat."

"A threat? No, Patrick. I just gave her a bit of a history lesson. That's all. But that's really beside the point. I'm glad you're being honest with me."

"That's good, because there's something else you should know…."

"I'm dying, Patrick" Robin blurted out.

"What?" Patrick stood up with a look of confusion on his face.

"You heard me. I'm dying." She confessed again.

"Wha... how? I don't understand."

"I went almost 2 years with the wrong combination of meds. That's how."

"Yeah but we ran tests when you came back. Everything was fine."

"No it wasn't. Since you've been honest with me, I need to be honest with you too. I had the test results changed."

"I don't understand, Robin. Why would you do that?"

"I was trying to buy myself some time with my family, Patrick. I didn't want to come back just to have everyone treat me with kid gloves. And I thought if I had some time and got back to work, I would be able to find a new protocol."

Patrick looked at Robin with tears in his eyes "Have you?"

"No, not yet. I'm not giving up though. I've come too far just to lose it all now."

"How long?" He asked barely above a whisper.

"Six months definite. A year if I'm lucky" Robin chuckled "Luck… as if that has anything to do with it."

"What can I do?" Patrick asked running his fingers through her hair.

"This, what you're doing right now. You can just be here for me. That's all I need. Just my husband and my daughter. My family. With you, I can get through anything." She replied falling into his arms.

"Yeah… of course. I'll be here." Patrick slowly wrapped his arms around Robin. He looked out of the glass of the patio doors in disbelief. Just a few minutes earlier he was prepared to tell her he wanted a divorce. Now she was telling him that all she needed to get through this scare was his love. How could he deny her that? She was the mother of his child. He couldn't deny her anything. Patrick would have to put his wants and desires on hold to help Robin find a way to save her life.

* * *

"Took you long enough" Felix said as Sabrina approached the table at Kelly's.

"Sorry. Ethan and I got caught up in this search. Did I miss anything?" She replied taking a seat.

"I should be asking you that. Are things heating up with you and the Aussie?" Felix asked.

"No Felix. The Aussie and I are just friends. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Depends on how many times the two of you decide to play tonsil hockey" Felix smirked.

"Funny. But that won't be happening again. Actually…" Sabrina smiled coyly "I think Patrick and I are getting back together."

Felix practically choked on the soda he was sipping "Shut up! For real? Please don't play with my emotions."

"I'm serious. He called me earlier and said he's asking Robin for a divorce."

"And you're finally going to stop pushing him away?"

"I can't fight him anymore. Or you for that matter. And Ethan was right."

"How so?"

"He said its time I start doing what makes me happy."

"Girl I've been telling you that for months." Felix said rolling his eyes.

"I know but…" Sabrina was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. "Hey" She smiled "How did it go?"

"It… went" Patrick replied somberly

"Is everything ok? How did she take it?" Sabrina asked.

"I um…." Patrick struggled to find the words to break her heart.

"Patrick, what's wrong? She's not going to contest the divorce is she?"

"No, I didn't exactly get that far. I told her about us but… Sabrina I don't know exactly how to say this."

"Say what, Patrick? You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry, Sabrina but I can't divorce Robin right now. I talked to her and…"

Sabrina dropped the phone from her ear in the middle of Patrick's sentence in a state of shock. She looked at Felix who was sitting across from her with concern on his face.

"Sabrina? Sabrina?" Patrick called into the phone with no response.

"Girl, what did he say?" Felix asked.

Sabrina hit the end call button on her phone without bothering to listen to whatever Patrick was saying on the other end. "He chose her" She whispered.

"What? No, that's not possible. Call him back" Felix demanded.

"No, Felix. He's staying with his wife. It's over." Sabrina sat stone faced at the table wondering how her life could go from bliss to heartache again in just a matter of hours. Her head became cloudy and the stomach began to tighten. "I think I'm going to be sick" Sabrina said before running into the bathroom of Kelly's. She spent the next half an hour on the floor throwing up and crying.


	28. Chapter 28

CH 28

"Nurse Santiago? Did you hear me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Dr. Clay. I'll start the IV." Sabrina replied before doing as the doctor asked. She had been in a bit of a fog for a week after Patrick told her he was staying with Robin. He kept calling to try to explain but she didn't want to hear anything he had to say. He made his choice and Sabrina had made hers. She was choosing to finally move on with her life. "All done." She said.

"Thanks. You may want to take a break until you can get your head back in the game." Dr. Clay suggested.

"I think you're right." Sabrina said walking out of the exam room. She headed to the locker room to splash some water on her face. This thing with Patrick was beginning to take a physical toll on her. She couldn't sleep or eat. She felt sick to her stomach every time the subject was even brought up. She had even taken her own blood pressure and saw that it was through the roof. Patrick Drake was definitely becoming bad for Sabrina's health

Once in the locker room, Sabrina turned on the faucet on the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. After a few seconds her single reflection became two. And then three. Sabrina held on to the sink counter as the room began spinning and her head became heavy.

"Sabrina…?"

Sabrina tried to turn her head in the direction of the voice calling her but collapsed to the floor before she could make out the figure.

* * *

"Felix! Help me out" Patrick screamed running in his direction carrying an unconscious Sabrina in his arms.

"Sabrina?!" Felix said in a panic. "Quick, in here" He opened the door to an empty exam room. Patrick rushed in and placed Sabrina flat on the table. "What the hell happened?"

"I walked into the locker room and she was standing there against the sink. I called her name but she just fainted."

"Again?" Felix asked checking her heart rate through his stethoscope.

"What do you mean again?" Patrick asked

"She's hasn't been feeling well lately. She told me she had a dizzy spell at Sonny's a few days ago. I told her to get checked out, but you know how she is."

"She may be dehydrated. Start a drip. Also take a blood sample so we can run some tests. Sabrina?" Patrick asked as he peeled her eyes open to check her pupils.

"Got it" Felix said.

"Good take it down to the lab. Have them run a full battery of test." Patrick asked as Felix was already in stride.

"Sabrina can you hear me? Wake up, sweetie." Patrick said placing a kiss on her forehead.

Sabrina groaned as she began to regain consciousness. She blinked rapidly to adjust her eyes to the florescent hospital lights and saw Patrick standing over her with relief on his face. "Wha… what happened?" She whispered.

"You fainted" Patrick replied brushing the hair away from her face. "We're running some test now. How do you feel?"

Sabrina slowly sat up on the table and looked around the exam room "I'm better."

"Good, but lay still. I want to take your blood pressure. Maybe schedule a CAT scan."

"That's not necessary, Patrick."

"Sabrina you fainted, and from what Felix said, it wasn't the first time. There could be something seriously wrong. I just want…"

"I want another doctor." She said coldly.

"Sabrina…"

"Now!" Sabrina screamed.

"Hey, calm down…" Patrick said grabbing Sabrina's hand.

Sabrina pulled back her hand and pushed him away with all the strength she had in her "NOW! Get out! I don't want you here!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Felix said running back into the exam room.

"Get him out of here!" Sabrina yelled with tears coming down her face.

"Sabrina, please" Patrick begged.

"Dr. Drake you really need to leave. You're just making it worse. Please" Felix said walking over to Sabrina and taking her into his arms. "It's ok. Calm down. It's going to be ok."

Patrick watched as Sabrina had a meltdown in Felix's arms and realized that he was the reason. He reluctantly left the room and practically ran into Robin in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Robin asked looking in the window of Sabrina's room.

"She um… she passed out." Patrick replied visibly shaken by her outburst.

"Oh no. I hope she's ok…"

"I have to get out of here" Patrick turned to walk back towards the locker room with the realization that the woman he loved most in this world hated the sight of him.

* * *

"Well it's lower now but it's still sky high." Felix said removing the blood pressure cuff. "I'm going to need you to take up meditation or something."

"I'm fine, Felix" Sabrina said rubbing her arm.

"You keep telling yourself that, girl. But allow me to give a bit of truth, you were teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown an hour ago. Not that I don't understand it. You have been through a lot, but you have to take care of yourself Sabrina. Maybe now would be a good time for us to go on that vacation we've been talking about."

"You may be right, but I can't go anywhere right now. Not with this search for Lily heating up."

"Excuse me, Nurse Santiago." Lucas said entering the exam room. "I have your test results."

"How's my girl, handsome?" Felix said winking at Lucas.

"Felix…." Lucas blushed.

"Oh right, sorry. Business like during business hours. How is the patient, Dr. Jones?"

"Well everything came back good" He said flipping through the chart. "But your iron levels are really low. Looks like an early onset of anemia. We should probably get you on a supplement along with prenatal's as soon as possible. Also your blood pressure is…."

"Wait" Sabrina interrupted "Prenatal's? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. Sabrina, you're pregnant."

Sabrina and Felix both let out a gasp and exchanged a look of disbelief "No" Sabrina said. "That's impossible. Let me see the chart." Lucas handed Sabrina her file and she began flipping through the pages. There is was in black and white. Sabrina was pregnant. "How far?" She whispered.

"I would say 6-8 weeks, but you really should schedule an appointment with an OB." Lucas replied.

"Wow" Felix said "Ain't that about a…"

"I can't believe this" Sabrina whispered as she handed her chart back to Lucas.

"Well, I'll go fill out the script and check on you later." Lucas said turning to leave the room.

"Dr. Jones, please make sure that no one, and I mean NO ONE, sees my medical records. Please." Sabrina begged.

Lucas nodded realizing who the no one she was speaking of was "Got it." He said closing the door behind him.

"This is…" Felix began.

"Crazy?" Sabrina finished.

"I was actually going to say great."

"What is great about this, Felix?"

"Sabrina, you and Patrick are having a baby. This is amazing!" Felix said excitedly.

"There is nothing amazing about this. I am carrying a married man's child. A man who has already said that he wants to be with his wife. This is the complete opposite of amazing."

"You won't even listen to Patrick's reasons for staying with Robin. Maybe if…"

"She moved back in with them, you know? I heard her talking about it with Elizabeth yesterday. About how her and Patrick and Emma were finally all together. She won, Felix."

"But if you tell him…"

"If I tell him, then what? He's going to leave his wife and run back to me? I don't want him like that. I don't want him to change his mind and chose me just because I'm pregnant. And I am not going to use this pregnancy to trap him. That would make me no better than Britt."

"Ok, don't you dare compare yourself to that monstrosity. This is completely different, Sabrina. Patrick loves you…"

"Patrick left me!" She yelled as the tears began to fall again. "He left me, Felix. I can't even blame him. I mean I left him first, right?"

"Sabrina listen to me" He said sitting on the edge of the exam table and taking her hands into his "Who left who first or last doesn't matter right now. The only thing that matters is the life you are carrying inside of you. Whether it brings you two back together or not, the both of you now have a responsibility to put all of it to the side and be parents to this child."

"I know, I just…"

"Hey" Patrick said entering the exam room with Robin in tow "Sabrina, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I had to make sure you were ok."

"Yeah, we can't have one of our best nurses ailing" Robin replied with a fake smile.

"So what did Lucas say?" Patrick asked.

"Well actually he said…" Felix said standing up from the exam table.

"I'm anemic" Sabrina blurted out. "He said it's an iron deficiency. That's all. Nothing to worry about."

Felix turned back and gave Sabrina the evil eye.

"So that was it?" Patrick asked.

Sabrina's eyes pleaded with Felix not to say anything more than that "Yep. That's all" He replied turning back to face Patrick with a smile on his face.

"Oh well that's good. Patrick, we really should be going. Emma's dance class will be over soon." Robin said pulling at Patrick's sleeve.

"Yeah, ok. Well if there is anything you need…"

"I'll be fine, Patrick. Thank you." She said. They looked at each other for a few seconds. Both wanting to run to the other but neither knowing how the other felt.

"Ok" Patrick said as he closed the door behind him.

"That right there was nothing more than a delay. You're going to tell him what you have to tell him." Felix said crossing his arms.

Sabrina lowered her head in her hands and began to rub her temples. She had no idea how to begin to process the events of her life in the past few months. After everything, Sabrina could not believe that the roller coaster ride she had been on with Patrick Drake had only just reached its peak.


	29. Chapter 29

CH 29

"Hey Robin, I have those samples you asked for" Elizabeth said entering the lab.

"Thanks. You can set them where ever" Robin replied not looking up from her microscope.

"Still at it, I see" Elizabeth stated as she took a seat across from Robin.

"Yeah. I feel like I'm getting closer but still not there yet."

"What about the antiretroviral meds?"

"They've pretty much done all they can. I need more than that at this point." Robin replied with frustration in her voice.

"And I'm sure you'll find it." Elizabeth said confidently.

"You're damn right I will. I finally have my family back. I am not leaving them again."

"Yeah…" Elizabeth whispered as her thoughts went to Patrick and Emma and how happy they were before Robin returned.

"What?" Robin questioned.

"Huh? Nothing" Elizabeth smiled.

"No, you have something on your mind, speak on it."

Elizabeth took a deep breath "Robin, what made you tell Patrick about all of this?"

"Well he was honest with me so I had to be honest with him."

"That's all?"

"What are you insinuating, Elizabeth?"

"Nothing, I just… When you told me about it, it sounded a little convenient. Are you sure the only reason you confessed all of this to Patrick was because he deserved to know or did you feel like you were about to lose him?"

Robin stood up from the lab table and turned around to shield her eyes from her friend. She thought back to the night in their living room when Patrick admitted to sleeping with Sabrina. The look in his eyes, his entire demeanor. He was in love with Sabrina. Robin already knew that, but what she didn't realize until that night was that he loved Sabrina more than her. Robin knew exactly what Patrick was going to say next, so she did what she needed to do to stop him. "Does it really matter?" Robin asked turning back to face Elizabeth.

"Yes, it does. Is this really how you want him? Out of guilt and obligation?"

"Wow. Is that really all you think of our relationship? Patrick has loved me for a long time, Elizabeth."

"I am not disputing that, Robin, but he also loves Sabrina."

"Oh my God!" Robin screamed. "Sabrina Sabrina Sabrina! Do you have any idea how sick I am of hearing about perfect little Sabrina? That's all anyone can talk about. How beautiful she is, how great of a nurse she is, how much MY husband and MY daughter love her. And now you're taking her side too? You are supposed to be my friend, Elizabeth."

"Robin, I am always going to be your friend. And as your friend I feel like it's my responsibility to tell you how I see it."

"Fine, Elizabeth, how do you see it?" Robin huffed sitting back down across from her.

"Something horrible happened to you. You were ripped away from the people you loved most in this world. You spent a year and a half crying for them, loving them, fighting to get back to them. You said to yourself that when you finally got back you would never let anyone or anything take you away from them again."

"You would be correct. So what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, other than your failure to realize that life moved on here in your absence. Patrick grieved for you in the worse possible way he could. He shut everyone and everything out. He was this close to losing his job, his daughter and his mind. Everything in Noah that Patrick swore he would never embody, he became. He lived his life at the bottom of a pill bottle, Robin."

Robin wiped away the tears from her eyes "I know. He told me."

"I had never seen him so broken, so lost. Maxie and Lulu were the first to see the signs and call him out on it. They made him get clean, but even after that, he was an empty shell of his former self. He walked around this hospital like a zombie some days. It was like the light in his eyes was completely shut off. The first time I saw that light again…"

"Was with Sabrina." Robin said lowering her head.

"I know it hurts to hear this, Robin, but I refuse to lie to you. I was there. I saw it. I saw them fall in love with each other. I saw Patrick smile again, laugh again. I saw him looking forward to the next day because he knew he was going to see her. And Robin… when he thought he lost her to that crazy Doctor… I saw him beginning to slip right back to where he was. The thought of losing another woman he loved was almost too much for him to bear. After that horrible event, they became stronger than ever. They loved each other more than ever."

"And then I came back and ruined it, is that what you're saying?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you came back and didn't acknowledge it. You just assumed everything would go back to the way it was. You didn't even care how hard this was going to be for Patrick and Emma. The three of them were a family, Robin. Everything you said you wanted for them on that DVD, they were."

Robin dropped her head into her hands to catch her tears "You don't think I know that, Elizabeth? I see it every time I catch him staring at here. I see it in Emma's eyes every times she wakes up from a nightmare and cries for her. But what can I do about it now? What's done is done. We both know the kind of man Patrick is. He's never going to abandon me when I need him most."

"Patrick will always love you and support you through whatever comes, but you both will know the truth. Can you honestly live with that?" Elizabeth asked taking her hand "Robin, it is never too late to do what's right."

* * *

"Girl, that Lucas Jones is just too much" Felix said changing into his scrubs. "He's the main one talking about keeping it PC at work, and then has the nerve to pull me into a storage closet. Not that I am in anyway complaining. That man can check my vitals anytime he wants. Did you hear me?" Felix closed his locker and walked to the other side to see Sabrina staring off into space. "Earth to Sabrina."

"Huh? Yeah, Lucas. Great." Sabrina replied.

"Where were you just now?"

"In my own thoughts... as usual." She sighed.

"Let me guess, baby daddy issues."

"Felix, can you keep your voice down please?!" She said looking around the empty locker room.

"Girl, ain't nobody here. So has your conscience finally gotten to you?" Felix asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well you better talk about it. Preferably with Patrick. It's been a week since you found out you were baking his bun. You might want to run that past him. Just a suggestion." He smirked.

"Felix can you please let me handle this?" She said slamming her locker.

"I would love to, Sabrina, if you were actually handling it. All you're doing is ignoring it. That tactic isn't going to work forever. You're going to start showing eventually."

"Maybe not…" She said avoiding Felix's eyes.

"What do you mean, maybe not? Um hello, your skinny ass will not be able to hide a baby bump forever."

"That's not what I meant. Can we do this later? The last thing either one of us needs is for Epiphany to come looking for us."

"Fine, but we're not done with…" Felix said walking towards the lock room door and running directly into Robin as she was coming in. "Oh, Dr. Scorpio-Drake. I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"It's… it's ok." Robin said adjusting her clothing. She looked at Sabrina with blank expression on her face. She studied her for a moment before looking away.

"Robin? Is everything ok?" Sabrina asked?

"Yeah… um. Everything is fine. I just came in to pull myself together. Ethan is by the nurses' station by the way. I think he was looking for you."

"Oh ok. Thanks" Sabrina said before heading out the locker room and down the hallway with Felix. "Did she seem a little off to you?"

"No more so than usual" Felix chuckled.

* * *

"Dr. Drake" Ethan said approaching the counter of the nurses' station.

"Ethan. Let me guess, you're looking for Sabrina" Patrick said rolling his eyes and returning his attention back to his patient files.

"Yes, I am actually."

"Well I haven't seen her."

"That's fine. I'll wait. I have some news for her." Ethan smiled.

Patrick looked up at Ethan and tried to swallow his desire to wipe the smile off his face "Is this about Lily? Because I still think the entire thing is entirely too dangerous. I don't know what you and Sonny are thinking. How you could claim to care about her and then turn around and be ok with sending her into a country that was and still is riddled with violent drug crimes."

Ethan nodded his head in agreement "I agree. But you know her better than me. So you know that Sabrina doesn't do anything she doesn't want to."

"That sounds like a cop out to me." Patrick said angrily.

Ethan sighed "It's not my fault, you know?"

"No, it's Sonny's fault. If he wants to find Lily so badly, why doesn't he just go himself?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant that it is not my fault that you and Sabrina aren't together. I understand why you have so much animosity towards me. Any man would be lucky to have a woman like Sabrina Santiago by his side. Unfortunately, it's not me that she wants."

Patrick stood there for a moment absorbing what Ethan had just said. He was right. Everything between him and Sabrina wasn't Ethan's fault. It was theirs. Sabrina's for walking away the first time and Patrick's for walking away now. "Ethan… I'm sorry, I just…"

"Hey" Sabrina said walking up noticing the tension between them "Everything ok here?"

"Yeah, I need to talk to you for a moment" Ethan said pulling her over towards the elevators out of earshot of Patrick.

"Is it Lily?" She asked.

"Not exactly. I haven't heard anything new on that front. I'm actually here to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? What are you talking about?" Sabrina asked confused.

"I have to leave town for awhile. The great and adventurous Lucas Lorenzo Spencer has gotten himself into yet another dire situation and he needs my help. Sometimes I wonder who the parent really is." Ethan chuckled.

Sabrina turned away not finding anything funny about what he had just said. "You're leaving me too?"

"Hey come here" Ethan said turning her back around to face him "You know I wouldn't do this if it wasn't important."

"No, I know. He's your dad, you have to go" She said wiping her tears "It just seems like the people who mean the most to me keep leaving."

Ethan took Sabrina's face into his hands "I'm sorry to do this right now. If I had any other choice, I would stay here, but this isn't forever. I'll be back. How long it takes really depends on how deep my father has gotten himself in this go around. And just because I'm leaving doesn't mean the search for your mother is done. Sonny is putting Shawn Butler on it as we speak. He feels like they're getting close."

"I'm going to miss you." She pouted

Ethan smiled and placed a kiss on Sabrina's forehead "I'm going to miss you too, Mi Amiga" He smiled pulling her into his arms.

Sabrina wrapped her arms around Ethan's torso and let her tears soak his shirt. Ethan had quickly become one of her closet friends. Although she may not have been able to return his romantic feelings for her, she didn't want to lose him either. In his own little way, Ethan Lovett had keep Sabrina together. "Promise me you'll come back in one piece" She said when she finally loosened her grip.

"Who me? Please, I've got nine lives" he laughed.

"You said that the first time we met. I'm pretty sure you've used at least one of them already." She smiled.

"Ah yes, I did. And it was well worth it my dear" Ethan replied taking her chin into his finger tips and bringing her lips to his. There was no way he could leave without a final kiss from the object of his desires.

Sabrina returned Ethan's gesture, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed as passionately as she had on that drunken night in her apartment.

"Wow" He said after she allowed him back up for air "What was that for?"

"You can call that an incentive to come back alive." She smiled.

"Well, I'll take it." He said pushing the button to summon the elevator. Once he stepped on he turned to Sabrina one last time "Be happy, beautiful. You deserve it."

Sabrina smiled and watched Ethan disappear behind the closing doors. After a few moments she turned to walk back towards the nurses' station and was met with Patrick eyes. She looked down to the ground realizing that he had seen everything. She turned around in the opposite direction and began walking by the exam rooms. As she walked along the empty hallway she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket "Hello?"

"Yes, Miss Santiago?"

"Speaking."

"Hi this is Elaine with Woman's Choice Clinic. I was calling to confirm your appointment for tonight. Will you still be coming in?"

Sabrina closed her eyes and leaned up against the wall. She was alone, scared and pregnant with the child of a married man who didn't want her. She had no mother to help talk her though her feelings, a father who she didn't trust enough to confide in and an overbearing best friend who was well intentioned but naive to the conflict she had boiling inside of her. She felt abandoned and had to do what she felt was best for everyone involved.

"Miss Santiago? Are you still there" Elaine asked.

"Yes… yes I'm here. And yes… I will be there." Sabrina hung up the phone and slid against the wall until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her legs against her body and rested her chin on her knees. Everything was beginning to hit her like a ton of bricks. By this time tomorrow, she would no longer be pregnant by the man she loved.


	30. Chapter 30

CH 30

"Patrick, wait up" Robin called as she jogged down the hospital corridor "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure." He replied closing his patient's file. "Everything ok?"

"No, not really" Robin stated avoiding his eyes.

"Is it the protocol?"

"No, not exactly. Nothing has really changed with that. I needed to talk to you about us."

"Ok."

"I um… Well, I need to apologize to you about something. Ever since I came back I haven't really been myself."

"That's to be expected, Robin."

"I know, but the way I have been behaving, it hasn't been fair to you."

Patrick tilted his head to the side in confusion "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"I came back and expected all the pieces to just fall back into place. And when they didn't, I tried to force them. I feel guilty about that."

"Robin, if this is about you changing your test results, we've been over this already. I don't blame you for what you did. There's no need to feel guilty about that."

"No, but I do feel guilty about you and Sabrina."

"Don't waste your time." Patrick said rolling his eyes

"It's not a waste of time. You love her. I am clear on that now."

"Robin, I appreciate what you're saying but it doesn't matter. It's done. I'm with you and Sabrina is with Ethan."

"You think Sabrina is with Ethan?" She asked pulling at his arm.

"I know she is. I saw them kissing this morning."

"Patrick, I don't think that was what you thought it was."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Elizabeth mentioned to me that Ethan is leaving town, if he hasn't already, to bail Luke out of one of his mishaps. What you saw may have just been goodbye."

Patrick thought back to the look on Sabrina's face when he saw her talking to Ethan that morning "I mean, yeah. I guess. She did look really upset about something."

"She was just saying goodbye to her friend, Patrick. Elizabeth assured me that that's all they are."

"Ok, but I'm not sure exactly what any of this matters."

"It matters because you love her and she loves you. The two of you should be together." Robin said looking at the floor.

"I really don't want to talk about this again" Patrick huffed as he began to walk down the hall.

"Wait a minute" Robin said following him "There's something else you should know…" Robin practically ran into the back of Patrick who abruptly stopped walking when he saw Felix huddled in the corner yelling into his phone.

"I understand that, Sabrina, but this is NOT how to go about it! Listen to me…. No… No, this is not you're only option. Ok, but making this kind of a decision without even talking… Sabrina… Please don't do this. Hello? Sabrina? Sabrina?! Oh my God!"

"Felix?" Patrick said touching his shoulder.

Felix jumped at the sound of Patrick's voice and spun around in shock "Pa… Patrick. Uh…"

"Is Sabrina ok?" Patrick asked concerned.

"Umm.. Yeah" He replied trying to steady his shaking hands. "I have to go" Felix began to walk past Patrick and Robin.

"Wait, if something is wrong with Sabrina I want to know, Felix." Patrick said blocking his path.

Felix took a step back and gave Patrick an annoyed look "As if you actually care." He snapped.

"Felix that's not fair…"

"No its not! You know what else is not fair, the fact that my best friend is about to make to biggest mistake of her life all over some guy that clearly was never good enough for her in the first place. THAT'S what's not fair! Now if you will excuse me." Felix bolted past Patrick and ran towards the elevator desperate to stop his friend before she changed her life forever.

Patrick exchanged looks with Robin before running after Felix "What the hell is going on?" He asked once he was at the elevator.

"I really don't have time for this right now, Dr. Drake" He replied while hitting the button to the elevator and redial on his cell phone simultaneously "Dammit, Sabrina, answer the phone. What the hell is taking this elevator so long?!"

"Felix, please! You're scaring me! What the hell is going on with Sabrina?!"

"She's pregnant" Robin whispered from behind him.

Patrick and Felix both turned around to see Robin standing there with tears in her eyes "What did you just say?" Patrick asked perplexed.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, Patrick. I didn't mean to Felix, but I heard you two talking when I was coming into the locker room this morning."

"Is this true?" Patrick asked turning back to face Felix.

Felix began hitting the button to the elevator again "I can't say."

"FELIX! Is Sabrina pregnant?!" He screamed.

"Yes! Yes she's carrying you child! Ok!" Felix finally confessed.

All the color in Patrick's face washed away and the world began to slow down "Wha… I don't understand. How… ?"

"Patrick, as much as I would love to stand here and explain the birds and the bees to you, I need to stop her!"

"Where is she?" Patrick asked as the elevator doors finally opened.

"Patrick, I have to go…"

"WHERE?!" He yelled again as passing staff members began exchanging worrisome looks.

"She's at the women's clinic on Smithfield Street." Felix sighed.

"Wait… she's….."

"Yes, she's going to have an abortion."

"No… why? Why would she do that?!"

"Oh gee, I don't know, maybe because the father of her child broke her damn heart. Just a guess." Felix said throwing up his hands.

Patrick turned again to face Robin with torment in his eyes "Go." Was all she said before Patrick jumped onto the awaiting elevator. The adrenalin that was flowing through his veins was not unlike the night he thought he was going to lose Sabrina and Emma to Dr. Obrecht and her diabolical plans. Once again, Patrick was on a journey to save his child and the women he loved.

* * *

"Miss Santiago, we're ready when you are." The nurse said standing in the doorway to the exam room.

Sabrina bounced her legs up and down nervously as she sat glued to the waiting room chair. She should have never answered the phone when Felix called. She knew he was going to try to talk her out of it. He didn't understand what she was dealing with. A child who was unplanned and probably unwanted by the father. A child who was sure to grow up around the whispers of how he or she was conceived and how its mother had broken up a happy home. Sabrina might as well wear a scarlet letter on her chest for the rest of her life because she was sure that was how people would perceive her. This was her only recourse.

"Miss Santiago?" The nurse called again.

"I'm ready" Sabrina answered as she slowly stood up and followed the nurse into the exam room. Sabrina stared at the table with leg stirrups protruding out of the end. She took a deep breath and swallowed away her fear. The sound of the exam room door closing behind her almost brought her to her knees.

* * *

"SABRINA!" Patrick screamed as he ran into the front door of the women's clinic. "Where is she?!" He began banging on the locked door leading to the exam rooms.

"Sir! You can't be in here!" The receptionist yelled from behind the glassed in counter.

"Sabrina!" Patrick ignored the receptionist and continued to pound on the locked door "Open this door! Now!"

"Someone call security!"

"Sabrina, please!" Patrick cried against the door "Please don't do this. I love you. I love our child. Open the damn door!"

"What the hell" said one of the nurses and she opened the door from the inside. The second Patrick saw a crack, he swung the door open and began running down the hall.

"Sir! You can't go in there!"

Patrick opened every door to every room he could find but Sabrina was nowhere to be found.

"I got him!" yelled a security guard as he charged towards Patrick and tackled him to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Patrick said struggling to break free. "I have to stop her!"

"It's ok, let him up" Said the attending physician as she exited the last exam room in the hall.

The security guard rose to his feet with Patrick tightly in his grasp. "Sir calm down!"

"Sabrina. Sabrina Santiago? Where is she?!" Patrick's voice cracked as his tears fell to the floor

The physician let out a sigh and gave Patrick an apologetic look "Sir, I'm sorry…. But you're too late."

The last three words Patrick heard caused his legs to give out underneath him. The security guard loosened his grip allowing Patrick's limp body to fall to the ground. He buckled over and grabbed at his stomach in anguish. 'No…" He cried. He was too late. His baby was gone. A baby that he had only known about for an hour yet already loved so much was gone and it was his fault. Patrick lay on the cold sterile tile screaming in agony for the second child he had lost in a year.


	31. Chapter 31

CH 31

"Wow what's all of this?" Sonny asked walking onto the terrace to a moonlit dinner.

"Oh nothing much" Olivia smiled "Just a little Bruschetta with Fried Zucchini, Stuffed Mushrooms and Focaccia bread."

"Are we feeding all of Port Charles?" He chuckled looking at elaborate Italian meal.

"You never know. Have a seat handsome. I feel like we haven't really had a quiet moment just the two of us lately."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry about that."

"Nothing to apologize for."

"No, I mean it. Things around here have been hectic."

"Things around here are always hectic. Don't you think I'm used to that by now?"

"You definitely have a point there. But I know this Lily thing probably hasn't been easy on you."

Olivia took a long sip of her wine and tried to force a smile "It's ok. I get it. It's difficult to move on with your life when there is still such a big part of your past that's unresolved."

"Exactly. And I really want to do this for Sabrina, you know. That girl shouldn't be forced to have me as her only parent" Sonny laughed.

"Well at least she's speaking to you again."

"Barely. Why is it that every time I think I'm doing something to benefit my kids it ends up backfiring on me?"

"Because you do it out of control." Olivia said plainly.

"Wow, don't mince words. Tell me how you really feel."

"Sonny, you know me. I'm going to give it to you straight whether you want to hear it or not. Your parenting tactics can be a little… manipulative. Don't get me wrong. No one knows how much you love your kids more than me, but sometimes loving them means having to let them make their own mistakes."

"I know" Sonny sighed as he took a sip of wine "Trust me, I know."

"Boss?" Max said standing at the French doors. "I am so sorry to disturb you and Ms. Falconeri, but Mr. Butler is here to see you. He says it's urgent."

"It's ok, more for me." Olivia winked.

"I'll be right back" Sonny said standing up from the table,

"Max, join me. There's plenty" Olivia offered as Sony closed the doors to the terrace.

"Shawn, what's up?"

"It's Lily" Shawn said holding a manila folder in his hand. "We have confirmation."

"So it is her?" Sonny asked.

"Oh it's definitely her" Shawn handed Sonny the folder that contained pictures, banks statements and travel records. "She's been going by the name of Elena Mendoza."

"Elena. That's her middle name" Sonny whispered as her stared at the pictures of his first wife. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered. Sonny may not have loved Lily the way he should have when they were married, but seeing her today stirred something inside of him that he couldn't ignore. "Are they still in the same location?"

"Yeah, but…"

"And we still have them under surveillance?"

"Yeah, but Sonny…"

"Alright, then. First thing tomorrow, I'm on a flight…"

"Sonny, stop!" Shawn interrupted. "We have a problem. A major one."

* * *

"Sir? Sir?" The doctor called as Patrick lay still on the floor of the clinic. "Help him up please."

The security guard went to bring Patrick to his feet when he jolted to a standing position. His sadness began to turn to rage. "I want to see her." He demanded wiping the tears from his face.

"You can't do that." The doctor replied.

"The hell I can't. She needs me. Please let me see her."

"You must be Patrick Drake. Ms Santiago listed you as the father." The doctor said flipping through her patient file."

"Yes, I am…" Patrick paused "I was the father of that baby. I have rights and I want to see Sabrina. Now!"

"Sir, I understand what you're saying but you can't see Ms. Santiago because she's not here."

"What?" Patrick asked confused "You discharged her already? You can't do that. Not only am I the father, I'm also a board certified physician. You can't just let someone walk out after a procedure like that. What the hell kind of place is this?"

"Sir, she didn't have the procedure."

Patrick stepped back and looked at the doctor as if she had two heads "Wha… But you said I was too late."

"I'm sorry, I meant you were too late because she had already left. Maybe 20 minutes before you came storming in here."

"So…" Patrick began looking around at all the clinic staff members who were looking on in concern "She didn't do it?"

"No Sir. She came in and we were asking her the standard questions we have to ask women to make sure they know what is that they are doing and advising them of their options. When we got to the part about the baby's father, she broke down and ran out."

"She's still pregnant" Patrick whispered to himself

"Yes she is, and on a personal note, clearly very much in love with the father." the doctor replied lightly touching Patrick's arm.

"Thank you! I'm so sorry about this!" Patrick said running back in the same direction he had bolted in from. In his sprint to the car, he pulled out his cell phone to call Sabrina's number. Straight to voicemail. He then dialed Felix.

"Did you find her?" Felix asked on the first ring.

"No she wasn't here. They said she didn't go through with it. Where are you?"

"Just now walking in the door" Felix replied.

"Is she there?" Patrick asked starting his car.

"Hold on. Sabrina? Sabrina?" Felix called into the dark apartment. "Patrick she's not here."

"Damn. Ok stay there in case she comes back. I think I have an idea."

"Do you think you know where she would go?" Felix asked.

"One word, Sonny."

* * *

"This is not good" Sonny said collapsing on to the sofa in disbelief.

"No, good is not a word I would use to describe this situation. So, how do you want to handle it?" Shawn asked.

"I'm not even sure. I mean I guess…" Sonny was interrupted mid sentence at the sound of someone pounding on the front door. "What now?!" Sonny said angrily walking to the door.

"Sonny, open the door!" Patrick yelled on the other side. "Where is she?" He asked walking past Sonny once the door was open.

"Where is who?" Sonny asked confused.

"Don't play dumb with me, Sonny. Where is Sabrina?"

"Sabrina? She's not here, Patrick."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Believe what you want, search the place if you want. She's not here."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Patrick asked.

"A couple days ago, why? What the hell is going on?"

"She's…" Patrick was stopped by the ringing of his cell phone "Felix, did she show up?"

"Um… no, she didn't. Patrick we might have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Patrick asked.

"Well when I saw that she wasn't here, I called the hospital to see if maybe she was there. Epiphany said she wasn't but that she received a strange call from HR earlier that Sabrina had requested an immediate leave of absence due to a family emergency."

"What? I don't understand." Patrick said.

"That's not all. After I hung up with Epiphany I checked Sabrina's closet…"

"And?!"

"Patrick, her suitcases and most of her clothes are gone. So is her passport."

"No…" Patrick said holding himself up using the edge of Sonny's console table "Where the hell could she have gone?"

"Well, I think I have an idea. Working with Spinelli to expose the Britch, I learned a little bit about snooping. I checked the browser history on the computer. Looks like she booked a flight to Miami tonight that connects to Bogotá, Colombia."

"Are you sure?" Patrick asked.

"Positive."

"Thanks, I'll call you back." Patrick said hanging up the phone.

"Mind telling me what the hell is going on now?" Sonny said.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you Sonny? Now she's gone!" Patrick yelled as he began pacing the living room.

"Why are you talking in circles? Where the hell is she?"

"She went to Colombia, Sonny! Are you happy now?"

"Wait a minute, are you sure?" Sonny said approaching Patrick.

"Yes, I'm sure! She went on some wild goose chase thanks to you."

"Dammit!" Sonny said slamming down one of the shot glasses sitting on the coffee table causing glass to fly everywhere.

"You really didn't know?" Patrick asked surprised by Sonny's outburst.

"No I didn't know! I would never agree to her going down there after what I just found out!"

"Wait, what? What did you find out?"

"This Mendoza guy, he has security around him and Lily at all times. I thought it was a little strange at first but figured that he may be guarded due to whatever illegal business he's gotten himself in to. Sabrina was actually the one who mentioned how odd it would be for Lily to be with a guy in the same business as her father… and me, I suppose."

"So it really is Lily?" Patrick asked.

"Oh it's her alright. But I only just found out. I didn't have a chance to tell Sabrina yet. And If I had I would have told her that there was no way in hell I would let her go down there. Not now."

"What aren't you telling me, Sonny?" Patrick asked with frustration in his voice.

"Well" Shawn started "We thought the security around Mendoza was to keep people out. Turns out its to keep Lily in. He has been holding her hostage since his father died over a decade ago. If Sabrina thinks she can just stroll up and ring his doorbell, she's got another thing coming. This guy is completely unstable. He has no conscience, a trigger temper and a fixation on Lily that is truly disturbing."

"This is not happening" Patrick said burying his head in his hands.

"Shawn, do you have everything?"

"You know it boss." He replied.

"Good, let me go tell Olivia then we can go. Maybe we can head her off at the airport. There is no way I'm going to allow this crazy son of a bitch to get his hands on two people that I care about."

"Three…" Patrick whispered.

"What did you just said?" Sonny asked.

Patrick sighed and wiped the tears from his eyes "I said three. He would have your wife, your daughter and your grandchild. Sabrina is pregnant, Sonny."

"Let's go" Sonny said realizing the enormity of the situation. "You can fill me in on everything on the way." Shawn followed as Sonny and Patrick headed out the door and to the airport determined to stop their girl from walking into a deadly trap.


	32. Chapter 32

CH 32

"This way!" Sonny yelled back at Patrick and Shawn as they ran through the crowded airport. "Do you see her flight?" Sonny asked once they reached the flight board.

Patrick searched fanatically through the scrolling flights to find the number that matched the one Felix had texted him "There!" He pointed "They're boarding now!"

"Come on" Sonny said taking off in the direction on the terminal.

"Wait a minute!" Shawn said stopping him. "They're not going to let you or me past security" he said alluding to the .9mm glocks they were both carrying. "Let Patrick go."

"Fine, but hurry!" Sonny said as Patrick was already in stride.

Patrick ran as fast as he could careful not to run anyone over as he made his way to the security check. Once he saw the officers, Patrick quickly changed his demeanor as to not alarm the TSA agents. Luckily there weren't many people in line for a late night flight. He threw his shoes, keys, wallet and cell into the tray and walked through the metal detectors without any alarms. Once he was out of the TSA's line of site, he took off running like a mad man again to find the right terminal.

"WAIT!" He screamed once he found the one he was looking for.

"Sir!" One of the attendee's called from behind the desk. "Are you supposed to be on this flight?"

"Yes… I mean, no. There is someone on that flight that shouldn't be!"

"Sir, what do you mean? Is there a possible National Security threat?" The attendee asked picking up the phone to dial security.

"No! That's not what I meant. Listen to me, the woman I love is on that plane and I need you to stop it before it takes off."

"Sir" She said hanging up the phone "I can't do that. The plane has already taxied to the runway."

"You don't understand. She can't leave! She's pregnant!"

"Sir, I truly wish there was something I could do, but…"

The attendee began explaining airport policy but it was nothing more than white noise to Patrick at that point. He aimlessly drifted over to the terminal window. He placed his hands on the glass as he watched the plane Sabrina was on make a turn onto the runway. "Please…" He cried. "Don't leave me." Patrick fell to his knees as he watched the plane ascend forward and lift off carrying the love of his life into uncharted territory.

* * *

"Damn…" Sonny whispered as he saw Patrick walking towards him and Shawn without Sabrina by his side.

"I… I couldn't stop the plane." He managed to say through the lump of distraught in his throat.

"Ok" Sonny said rubbing his chin "On to plan B."

"Plan B?" Patrick asked confused.

"I have a charter waiting for me and Shawn at the small airport in the next town over. One that doesn't require layovers, customs or security checks. If we can't stop her, at least we might be able to beat her there. I just have to make a few more phone calls and then we can go Shawn."

"I'm coming with you" Patrick stated.

"I don't think that's a good idea" Sonny replied beginning to walk out of the airport.

"I could give a damn what you think!" Patrick said grabbing Sonny's arm.

"Watch it, Patrick" Sonny said angrily pulling his arm away.

Patrick took a step back to calm his tone "Listen to me, you and I... We don't have the greatest relationship, I get that, but I love her Sonny."

"Patrick I hear you, but this could quickly turn into a very volatile situation. I have enough to live with. Leaving Emma fatherless is not something I can deal with right now!"

"And living the rest of my life without Sabrina and my baby is not something I am willing to live with either!" Patrick yelled as the tears began to form again. "You once accused me of not loving your daughter enough. Well, I am here to tell you that there is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nowhere I wouldn't go and no danger that I would run from if it meant bringing her home. Please, Sonny."

Sonny exchanged looks with Shawn "He's doing exactly what you would." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Fine" Sonny caved "The more I argue with you the more time we're wasting." Sonny, Shawn and Patrick jumped in the car and began speeding to the second airport. Patrick made the necessary calls to Felix, Robin and Anna. Surprisingly none of them attempted to talk him out of what he was about to do. Felix even asked that they swing by to pick him up but understood that that would have taken precious time that they didn't have to spare.

"I just don't understand what the hell she's thinking" Sonny said breaking the silence in the car.

"She's thinking that I abandoned her" Patrick sighed. "She feels like I left her alone to deal with this pregnancy by herself. She thinks I chose Robin over her because I love her more."

"Do you?" Sonny asked. "I'm not trying to start anything, I honestly want to know."

"I loved Robin with all of my heart, but it feels like such a lifetime ago. I mourned her, you know. I may not have always done it in the right ways, but I did. I grieved that loss and I let it go. And when she came back… I don't know. It just never felt the same."

"But was your hesitation with Robin solely because of your feelings for Sabrina?"

"At first, yes. All I could think about was the life Sabrina and I had built. The future we were going to have. But the more time that went by the less I felt like Robin and I fit together. She was different. It wasn't until she told me she was dying that I understood why."

"So if Sabrina wasn't in the picture, would you have still felt distance between you and Robin?"

"Where are all of these questions coming from?" Patrick asked.

"I just… I don't know. I'm wondering how I might feel when I finally see Lily. Our situations aren't so different you know? The only real difference is time."

"Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about it like that."

After a few minute of silence Sonny took a deep breath "So I'm sure Robin told you about everything else too right?"

"You mean about how you orchestrated her return? Yeah, she told me. I wondered why Sabrina was so mad at you."

Sonny lightly chuckled to himself "Father of the year, right?"

"I don't know about that but I do know that Sabrina loves you."

"I love her too. How could you not love her? She's incredible."

"Yes she is." Patrick whispered.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Sonny asked.

"I told you already, Sonny…."

"No, I know. What I mean is, are you sure you're up for what might go down? I mean, have you ever even held a gun before?"

"I will do whatever I have to do for my family." Patrick said staring out of the car window.

"Wow, you're starting to sound like me" Sonny laughed.

"Scary, huh?" Patrick smiled.

We're going to bring her back Patrick. She has entirely too many people here who love her. Her friends, her family…" Sonny paused as a light bulb went off in his head. He took out his cell phone and began dialing.

"Who are you calling?" Patrick asked.

"If we can't get there before Sabrina, I know exactly who can."

* * *

"Bienvenido a Colombia. Espero que disfrute de su estancia." The flight attendant said which translates to _Welcome to Colombia. I hope you enjoy your stay _in English_._

"Gracias" Sabrina said as she walked out of the plane doors after what felt like the longest flight in history. The time that she wasn't fast asleep she was thinking about what had transpired in her life in the past 48 hours. She had gone from 0 to 60 and back again with her emotions and her erratic behavior showed it. Her calm disposition at the women's clinic quickly turned to panic when she began to talk about Patrick. The thought of getting rid of the only piece she had left of the man she loved was something she couldn't rationalize within herself. The truth was she wanted this baby. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything. All the time she spent with Emma made her excited at the idea of being a mother herself and now it was happening. She couldn't just throw it away because of her failed relationship with Patrick. So she went back to her apartment and decided that she would tell Patrick and let the chips fall where they may. But before she could do that, she had to bring her mother home. She needed as much support as she could get. So she gathered all the intel on Lily and Mendoza that she had taken off of Ethan's laptop, called the hospital to request a leave of absence, booked a flight and now she was here. Walking around a foreign country looking for the woman who had given her away.

"¿A dónde?" The cab driver asked 'where to' as Sabrina entered the car.

Sabrina shuffled around her bag looking for the paper with Mendoza's address on it. One she found it, she recited it to the cab driver. Sabrina looked out of the widow as they sped through the city streets. It didn't look too unlike the city she grew up in in Puerto Rico. She couldn't see what was so dangerous about it. It was 2013. Colombia looked to be far beyond the days of Pablo Escobar and Griselda Blanco. Of course, Sabrina knew that looks could be deceiving. She held no misgivings what she was walking into. In her mind the only real danger would be Lily rejecting her. After all, she didn't want her when she was a baby. There was a strong possibility of her not wanting her now. But Sabrina would have to take that risk.

Once the cab stopped in front of the address she had given, Sabrina paid the driver, stepped out of the car and removed her bags from the trunk. She stood there looking at 10 foot brick wall with a bolted door on the side. She wasn't sure if she was at a private residence or the US Embassy given the elaborate fortress. One thing she did notice was that the streets that were so crowded with people a few blocks up the road, where completely empty around this house. Sabrina shrugged it off as nothing more than this being a quiet residential street as opposed to the bustling market areas.

"Well, here goes nothing" She said walking towards the door. She took note of the razor wire above the entry way, the small peep hole and the panel of buttons that looked to be an intercom. Before she could push the first button on the panel, she felt one hand grab her from behind and another cover her mouth to keep her from screaming.


	33. Chapter 33

CH 33

Panic began to take over as Sabrina struggled with her would be kidnapper who began to drag her back way from the door. Sabrina kicked and flung her arms around as hard as she could but didn't connect with anything.

"Sabrina, calm down, it's me!" the man said as he loosened his grip around her waist.

Sabrina spun around and her fear quickly turned into shock "Juan, what the hell?!"

"Come on" Juan said grabbing her bags from the sidewalk.

"Wait, what the hell is going on? What are you doing here?"

"I'll get into that in a minute. Right now, I need you to get moving!" Juan said as he grabbed Sabrina by the hand and pulled her around the corner into an alley. Once they were away from the walled in building, Juan put Sabrina bags into the trunk of a parked car. "Get in."

"No" Sabrina said arms crossed. "Not until you tell me what the hell you're doing here."

Juan slowed down and took a deep breath "Same thing as you" He replied.

"Wait, you know about Lily?" Sabrina asked confused.

"Of course I do. I've known since Sonny first found out. You may not have been speaking with me over the past few months, but I've still be checking up on you."

"Ok, so if you know about everything, why exactly are we going in the opposite direction?" Sabrina asked annoyed.

"Sabrina, can you just trust me on this one?" Juan snapped.

"Really? You want me to trust you? Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Dammit, Sabrina, get in the car!"

"Not until you tell me how you knew I was here!" Sabrina said standing her ground.

"¡Dios mío! Sonny called me, ok? Can we go now?"

Sabrina unfolded her arms in surprise "Wait, he knows I'm here?"

"Yes, he knows. He called me, told me what was going on and asked me to try to beat you down here to stop you. Luckily I was already here anyway."

"Stop me? Why would he want to stop me? He wants to find Lily just as much as I do. I mean I know we don't have definite confirmation that it's…"

"It's her." Juan interjected.

"It is? That's great. Even more reason for us to go in there and talk to her."

"It's a bit more complicated that…"

"I know she'll be surprise to see us, but if we just talk to her, I'm sure she'll come back…"

"Bree! She's not here of her own free will." Juan said.

"Wha.. I don't understand."

"This guy, Mendoza or whatever, he's very dangerous. More so than Sonny originally thought. And nothing we say is going to make him let her go."

"Are you saying he's holding her hostage?"

"Yes. Which is why us just walking up in there alone is the last thing we need to be doing. Now can we please go?" Juan said opening the car door.

"Wait a minute, Juan. This is our mother. If she's in trouble, we can't just leave."

"Ok and what exactly do you suggest we do, Bree, appeal to his sensitive side? From what I've heard this guy doesn't have one of those."

"We don't know that for sure." Sabrina said solemnly.

"Sabrina, as much as I admire your ability to always see the good in people, now is not the time and this is NOT the guy. We need to get somewhere safe, now! Let's go!

Sabrina looked back at the fortress she had just been ready to enter. Her mother was mere yards away from her. How could she just leave now? Maybe Juan was right. He definitely sounded convincing. As much as Sabrina wanted to take her chances and storm the castle as it would be, she had another life to consider here. The life of the baby growing inside of her. When she ran out of the clinic a few days earlier, she made a promise to herself to never let any harm come to her child. Sabrina turned back around to get into the car as Juan suggested and was met by 3 men with bandanas on their faces. Each holding a gun bigger than the one next to them.

* * *

"Any luck?" Patrick said as he, Sonny and Shawn sped through the streets of Colombia.

"No" Sonny replied "Dammit, Juan! Answer your phone."

"What if he didn't get to her in time?" Patrick said thinking of the worst possible scenario.

"It's impossible. He was already here doing his own surveillance. He said he was going to stake the place out until he saw her show up."

"Boss?" Shawn said pulling in to the alleyway across the street from Mendoza's compound.

Sonny looked up from his phone and saw a parked car with both the front doors wide open but no one around it. Shawn parked in front and grabbed the .9mm from his waist band. Sonny did the same. "Let's check it out."

Cautiously all three of them exited their vehicle and slowly approached the abandoned car. They looked in each door but didn't see anything that stood out.

"Pop the trunk" Sonny called to Shawn. Shawn hit the button on the driver said door as instructed. Once opened Patrick ran to the back of the car to view its contents.

"No…" He whispered.

"Are these her bag?" Sonny asked.

"Yes." Patrick replied checking the luggage tags. "We're too late."

Sonny slammed the trunk in frustration and began pacing back and forth thinking what to do next.

Shawn walked to the back of the car and looked towards the brick wall with the razor wired door "Plan C?" He asked.

"Plan C? What the hell is Plan C?" Patrick asked.

"No. Not yet. We don't know for sure…" Sonny said before being interrupted by the vibration of his cell phone. "It's Juan" He said recognizing the number.

"Put it on speaker!" Patrick demanded.

"Juan? Where the hell are you? Do you have Sabrina?"

"Si, Mr. Corinthos. We definitely have something you want" the voice on the other end of the phone replied.

"Who is this?" Sonny asked.

"Now now, you're a smart man. I think you know the answer to that."

Sonny tilted his head back and balled up his fist. "What do you want, Mendoza?"

"Funny, I should be asking you the same thing. You're the one who has been watching me for weeks. Bet you think I didn't notice. I have eyes everywhere. You may run a small town in the United States, but I run all of Colombia. Nothing happens that I am not aware of."

"Ok, so you know. Now what? What do you want?"

"I think I have everything I want. I have the wife you thought you buried. And I have your daughter. And let me tell you, she is a beauty. It's like staring at the younger version of my dear Elena. Oh I'm sorry, that's Lily to you."

"Oh my god…" Patrick said running his hands through his hair.

"Listen to me very carefully, because I am only going to say this once" Sonny said angrily "You have greatly underestimated me if you think I am going to let you get away with hurting my family."

"Ah, the all-powerful Sonny Corinthos, all bark. I know all about how you operate." Mendoza chuckled.

"Good, then you know that I have no problems with ending your life and stepping over your corpse."

"Must we be so violent? I was hoping the two of us could come to an understanding."

"Name your price."

"See that right there is where you and I differ, Sonny. I don't put a numerical price on life. And besides, there is nothing you have that I want. I'm the one holding all of the cards."

"Everyone has a price, Mendoza, even you, so what is it? Because the more you stall, the angrier I get."

"Fine" Mendoza sighed. "Since you're in such a giving mood, there is something you can do for me. I need you to stop my extradition to the US. The charges that I'm facing on US soil… Let's just say I like it much better where I'm at. Make that go away, and you can have your daughter back."

"How the hell do you expect me to do that?" Sonny asked.

"I don't know, divine intervention. I don't really give a damn. You and I are in a very similar line of business and you've never done time for any of it. Channel that classic Corinthos law evasion for me."

Sonny looked at Patrick who had a look in his eyes begging him to comply "Fine, but you have to do something for me too."

"I'm sorry, I must have missed the part where this became a negotiation."

"I'm not doing a damn thing until I know for sure that my daughter is still alive."

"I can guarantee you not a hair has been harmed on her pretty little head."

"Your guarantee means nothing to me. Let me speak to her or no deal." Sonny demanded.

"Fine" Mendoza sighed "Hold on."

After a few seconds of silence Sabrina's voice was finally heard through the speaker phone. "Sonny?"

"Sabrina, are you ok?" Sonny asked relived.

"Yes. I'm ok…" she replied

"Sabrina?!" Patrick said with tears in his eyes.

"Patrick? Is that you?" Sabrina asked surprised.

"Yes, I'm here baby, and I promise we will get you out of there. I love you. And I know about… Hello? Sabrina?"

"Ok ok that's enough of that" Mendoza said coming back on the line. "You have 24 hours, Corinthos. Stop my extradition or you'll be retuning your daughter back to Port Charles in a pine box."

"Son of a bitch!" Sonny yelled as the call went dead.

"He's going to kill her…" Patrick whispered.

"No he's not. I won't let him." Sonny said sternly.

"Sonny, how the hell can you stop a Federal extradition?" Patrick asked.

"I can't, but I can make him think I can." Sonny said locking eyes with Shawn.

"Plan C?" Shawn asked again to which Sonny nodded his head. It was do or die time and Sonny was ready to make sure that the only one who died in this scenario was Edwardo Mendoza.


	34. Chapter 34

CH 34

"THIS is plan c?" Patrick asked concerned.

"Do you have a better idea?" Sonny replied.

"No, but…"

"Listen, we have this under control. We just have to keep mindful of the time, that's all. 20 minutes. In and out."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"I won't allow it. We go in, we get Sabrina, Juan and Lily and we get to the airport as fast as humanly possible."

"And you're sure that is going to work?" Patrick said watching Sonny fill his briefcase.

"It'll work long enough." Sonny replied.

"Well, Alexis definitely made it look legit" Patrick said referring to the forged extradition papers she faxed down to the only modernized hotel in Bogotá.

"Boss, everything is in place" Shawn said entering the hotel room.

"Good. Here" Sonny said handing a gun to Patrick.

Patrick examined the gun in his hand and wondered if he would have to use it. The lives of Sabrina and his unborn child hung in the balance and if he had to, he would kill anyone who stood in his way of protecting them.

"Let's ride" Sonny said as they left the hotel to get their girls.

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Sabrina asked Mendoza as he smoked a cigar

"Hey, it was your dear old dad who brought this on himself. We were living a peaceful life until he began sticking his nose in places it didn't belong."

"All he wanted was to give me a chance to meet my mother."

"Yeah, I'm sure it started out that way but he got too close for his own good."

"We still want to see her by the way" Juan added.

"My Elena is otherwise occupied at the moment."

"Please…" Sabrina pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Mendoza sighed and rolled his eyes "Fine. Melendez, go get Elena" he instructed one of the guards who did as asked.

"I'm kind of nervous" Sabrina whispered to Juan.

"It's ok. She'll love you" Juan said placing his hand on her shoulder.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, the doors finally opened again. Melendez entered first with Lily close behind him with her head lowered.

"Ah Elena my dear" Mendoza said "Come on in. You have visitors."

Lily lifted her head to see Juan and Sabrina standing in front of her. She stared at them blankly for a minute before again looking to the floor.

"Lily? It's me, Juan" He said slowly stepping towards her. Juan looked back at Sabrina when Lily didn't respond and motioned for her to come closer. Sabrina stepped forward and studied the woman who had given birth to her. "This is Sabrina. You're daughter" Juan said.

The word daughter made Lily's head shoot back up. When she had entered the room she recognized Juan but thought the girl must have been his wife or something "Daughter?" She whispered.

"Yes. Yours and Sonny's. She's all grown up as you can see" Juan chuckled.

"Hi" Sabrina smiled.

Lily stepped forward and placed her hand on Sabrina's cheek and examined her from top to bottom. It was like looking into a mirror. "Mija?"

Sabrina returned Lily's gesture by placing her hand on her face also feeling as though she was looking into a mirror. The pictures didn't do her justice. Sabrina thought her mother was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen "Si" She replied.

Lily pulled Sabrina into her arms with such force that it initially startled her. Sabrina wrapped her arms around Lily as she felt her body begin to tremble slightly as she cried "Let me look at you" Lily said running her hands through Sabrina's hair "My god your beautiful. Isn't she, Juan?"

"Yes, she is" Juan smiled.

Lily kept one arm around Sabrina and pulled Juan into their hug with her other "Mis bebés. How?" She said wiping away tears. "How did you find me?"

"Well" Mendoza said interrupting their reunion "You have that damn Sonny Corinthos to blame for that."

"Sonny knows?" Lily asked.

"Yeah he knows… Everything" Juan replied giving Lily a look that only she could understand.

Lily looked back at Mendoza and lightly smiled. She knew that if Sonny was involved that she would finally be free of this hellhole and that the man who had held her all these years wouldn't be long for this world.

"Sir, Corinthos is here" One of the guards announced as he walked into the room.

"Is he alone?" he asked

"No he has a guy with him. Says he's a doctor."

"Patrick…" Sabrina whispered thinking back to hearing his voice on the phone when she was allowed to talk to Sonny. She still didn't understand why on earth he came all the way down here.

"Why the hell does he need a doctor?" Mendoza asked.

"He said the girl has something. I don't know."

"What wrong with you?" he asked Sabrina.

"I um…" Sabrina thought of something to say other than that she was pregnant. That was the last thing they needed to know. "I'm anemic and I have a blood pressure condition. I haven't had my medication in days."

"You look fine to me."

"Actually I haven't been feeling well since I got here but I didn't want to say anything." Sabrina said trying to make herself sound fragile.

"Fine, the doctor can come in. Last thing I need is for her to keel over before I get what I want."

Lily looked at Sabrina with concern on her face. Sabrina winked letting her know it was just an act. After a few minutes Sonny and Patrick walked in the room holding a medal bag and a briefcase. The minute Patrick saw Sabrina with his own two eyes, he wanted to run to her, but he didn't. He couldn't let on that they even knew each other. Sabrina followed his lead and pretended not to know who he was.

"Mr. Corinthos, come on in. May I get you something?" Mendoza asked.

Sonny slowed his stride when he laid eyes on Lily. The flood of emotions that came over him wasn't as easy to hide. It was as if he had seen a ghost. Sonny looked as Sabrina and Juan who gave him a look that said they were ok. "Let's skip the pleasantries and get on with it. Is it ok if I have him examine my daughter?"

"What is it that you think I did to her?" Mendoza asked faking outrage.

"With you, who knows." Sonny replied.

Patrick slowly walked towards Sabrina, placed a medical bag on the floor and took out a blood pressure cuff. He wrapped it around her arm and began to pump the air through the nozzle. "Are you ok?" He whispered to which Sabrina nodded her head.

"I know" Patrick stated plainly. Sabrina read his eyes and looked to the ground. "It's ok. I love you…. And our baby." Sabrina looked up and lightly smiled as he took the cuff back off her arm.

"Ok let's do this" Mendoza said. "Do you have what I asked for?"

"It's all in there." Sonny said handing him the briefcase.

Mendoza opened the briefcase to find legal documents and a few thousand dollars in cash. "Nice touch, Mr. Corinthos."

"For your troubles" Sonny smirked.

Mendoza looked over the extradition papers and nodded in approval. "Well a deal is a deal. They can go." Mendoza said motioning to one of the guards who began pushing Sabrina and Juan towards the door.

"Wait a minute!" Sabrina said turning back. "What about Lily?"

"My Elena wasn't part of the deal. You've met, now you can leave."

"Sonny, no! We can't leave her!" Sabrina cried. Lily turned away to hide her matching tears.

Sonny took Sabrina by the arm and mouthed the words _trust me. _"I'm sorry, but he's right. She wasn't a part of the deal. Let's go."

Sabrina looked back at Lily and decided to comply. Once the four of them were back outside of the walled in fortress, Patrick scooped Sabrina up in his arms and finally broke down. "I thought I was going to lose you." He mumbled.

Sabrina pulled away to look at the man she loved "What are you even doing here?" She smiled.

Patrick took her face into his hands and kissed her lips "Did you honestly think I would just sit by and let harm come to you or our baby?"

"I guess not" She smiled.

"Not to break up with precious moment, but we need to get out of here, now!" Sonny said already in the car.

"Wait, Lily?" Sabrina asked.

"Sabrina, trust us. Let's go." Patrick said as they all pilled in the car and began speeding towards the airport. Sabrina kept turning around to look out the back window expecting to see another car following them but saw nothing.

"Hey, it's ok" Patrick said holding her hand. We're almost there.

"Yeah but…" Before Sabrina could finish her sentence the car jolted as if the ground had moved beneath it. She looked again out of the back window and saw an orange fire ball and mushroom cloud coming for the direction they were speeding away from. "No!" She screamed realizing what she was seeing.

"Sabrina it's ok." Patrick said trying to calm her as they drove onto the runway of a private airport.

"A bomb?! Sonny, Lily is in there!" Sabrina screamed as she jumped out of the car. "What the hell were you thinking? How the hell did you get a bomb in there?!"

"The medical bag" Patrick replied thinking back to plan c.

"Sonny! How could you?!" Sabrina yelled.

"Just wait a minute!" Sonny said. The four of them stood there by the private jet waiting for something to happen. Anything. After what seemed like forever they finally saw a car turn into the airport and stop in front of them. Shawn climbed out of the driver seat and Mendoza's guard Melendez climbed out of the passenger seat.

"Everything work out ok?" Sonny asked.

"Like a charm" Shawn replied as he opened the back door. Lily stepped out of the car and smiled.

"Oh my god…" Sabrina cried as she ran into her arms

"It's ok, Mija. I'm here now and I'm never leaving you again." She said holding on to her daughter.

Sonny approached Lily and gently pushed her hair back behind her ear "Hi" He whispered.

"Hey there, handsome" She smiled.

"Can we continue this once we're in the air?" Shawn joked.

They all boarded the plane and began their journey back to Port Charles. Sonny filled Sabrina in on everything from the bomb they hid in Patrick's medical bag to forging the extradition papers to finding one of Mendoza's guards who was willing to turn on him to get asylum in the US, and how he snuck her out of the compound and into an awaiting car shortly after they left.

"Wow…" Sabrina said turning to Patrick "I can't believe you did all of that for me."

Patrick smiled and took her hand into his "Sabrina Santiago, I love you. I would walk through fire for you. Don't you know that by now?

"I do now. I love you so much" She said pulling his lips to hers. All the doubts she had in their relationship had vanished. Patrick was hers and together they would bring a new life into this world. A little piece of both of them and a symbol of their love and devotion to one another. They didn't know exactly what the future held for them but they knew they would face it hand in hand. Sabrina looked at her mother and reflected on being a mother herself. She couldn't wait. Patrick placed his hand on her stomach as if he were reading her mind. There may have still been a lot of unsettled things waiting for them all when they got home, but they were ready to face anything as long as they were together.

The End

*The sequel, Side Effects Of You, coming in a few weeks!*


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